RICHMOND -- Gov. Tim Kaine vetoed a pair of bills Wednesday to broaden the death penalty by eliminating the state's "triggerman rule," even as the Virginia Senate voted to uphold his vetoes of two bills to expand the right to carry concealed guns in cars and restaurants.

The triggerman bills would extend eligibility for capital punishment to certain accomplices who share "the same intent" as the actual killer.

Despite arguments from the bills' supporters, Kaine sees the bills as an expansion of the death penalty, which he opposes on moral grounds.

"Virginia is already second in the nation in the number of executions we carry out," Kaine said in a news release. "While the nature of the offense targeted by this legislation is very serious, I do not believe that further expansion of the death penalty is necessary to protect human life."

Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg, who sponsored the Senate version of the bill, said he was disappointed but not "terribly surprised" by the veto. He and House sponsor Del. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah County, spent about 25 minutes meeting with Kaine on the issue before the veto.

"The governor was very polite but didn't give much indication he had much room for flexibility on this issue," Obenshain said.

"Virtually every state in America that has the death penalty has abolished this artificial distinction," he said. "I am disappointed the governor didn't change his mind this year."

The Catholic Church has urged the end of state-sanctioned executions, arguing they are no longer necessary because other nonlethal means are available to protect society. When running for office in 2005, however, Kaine, a Catholic, said despite his opposition to the death penalty, he would take his oath of office seriously and enforce the sanction.

Since Kaine took office in 2006, Virginia has executed four people convicted of capital murder.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, six Democratic senators changed their votes to uphold Kaine's veto on a bill that would have allowed gun owners without concealed-carry permits to store firearms in locked vehicle compartments. The Senate had passed the measure by a 31-9 margin last month, but the new vote was 25-15, falling two votes short of the two-thirds majority required to overturn Kaine.

Sen. Ralph Northam, D-Norfolk, said he changed his vote after receiving feedback from law enforcement officials.

"After I took the first vote I had a lot of input from the sheriff's department and the state police, and they really made it known to me they would rather have weapons in the open so that they could see what was in the car, so I took that position," Northam said.

Another who changed his vote was Sen. Charles Colgan, D-Manassas.

"I felt I owed the governor one," said Colgan, who was a key swing vote in killing one of Kaine's key initiatives last week.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel, R-Fauquier County, said she planned to call for a reconsideration of the vote on the floor today.

Vogel said the Senate's vote was "a function of the fact the governor put pressure on the people here."

"It shouldn't be a party-line vote," Vogel said. "It's not a partisan issue. It's an issue of Second Amendment rights. It's an issue of the safe transport of weapons."

The Senate also failed to override the governor's veto of a bill to allow concealed handguns in bars and restaurants that serve alcohol. The Senate voted 22-18 in favor of the bill but fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to override the veto.

Kaine said Tuesday that he vetoed the two gun bills based largely on concerns raised by public safety officials. He said objections from the restaurant industry also factored into his decision to veto the bill allowing guns in places that serve alcohol.