The exterior of Annie's Get Your Gun store is seen...

The exterior of Annie's Get Your Gun store is seen where Syed Rizwan Farook is reported to have bought a gun used in the attack at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino on Dec. 5, 2015 in Corona, Calif. Credit: Getty Images / Joe Raedle

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The deadly shooting in San Bernardino happened in a state with some of the nation’s toughest gun laws.

California bars assault weapons, blocks the sale of large-capacity magazines and requires universal background checks for all gun purchases.

Authorities say they believe suspected gunman Syed Rizwan Farook and wife Tashfeen Malik had legally obtained two handguns and that two rifles were also legally purchased in California.

Since the attack Wednesday at a social service center in Southern California, the state’s strict laws and the apparent legal purchase of the weapons have set off a debate over the effectiveness of gun measures and whether getting tougher would help prevent more violence.

Gun control advocates have called for stricter laws, while opponents have said these tougher measures don’t work.

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