(C) Arizona Mirror
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Proposals allowing concealed guns on college campuses, gun shows in AZ cities, advance [1]
['Jerod Macdonald-Evoy', 'More From Author', '- February']
Date: 2024-02
One Republican bill that would allow concealed carry on campuses and another that would ban municipalities from prohibiting gun shows both passed initial hurdles in the Arizona House of Representatives Wednesday.
Arizona law prohibits firearms on school grounds, including the campuses of universities, colleges and community colleges.
But Senate Bill 1198 would disallow a governing board of any university, college or community college from enacting a rule that prohibits the possession of a concealed weapon by any person who possesses a concealed carry permit. A similar version of the bill, by Flagstaff Republican Wendy Rogers, was vetoed by Gov. Katie Hobbs last year.
Rogers and other Republicans have attempted to run similar legislation to eliminate places where concealed weapons are illegal, including attempts to allow people to bring their firearms into government buildings.
“This is campus carry,” Rogers told the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. Rogers invoked the recent death of University of Georgia woman, whose death has become a GOP talking point about immigration policy in the United States. “This is a seminal bill that the State of Arizona, our legislature, needs to lead on.”
Supporters of Rogers’ measure cited Utah and Colorado as states that have allowed firearms on college campuses, claiming that there have been no shootings — an assertion they later couched by saying that there have been no shootings by people with concealed-carry permits.
Just this week, two people were shot to death in a dorm at the University of Colorado. Court documents revealed that the alleged shooter had threatened to kill one of the people who was ultimately murdered for asking to take out the trash in the dorm a month earlier.
Utah has also had shootings occur on campus since the changing of their law.
In 2020, the University of Utah paid $13.5 million to the family of student-athlete Lauren McCluskey, who was killed by her ex-boyfriend-turned-stalker who she reported to campus police more than 20 times. The University of Utah has experienced multiple shootings.
Proponents of the measure said that those with CCW permits are trained how to properly handle a firearm.
Although Arizona has a concealed carry permitting program, the state also allows adults to carry concealed weapons without a permit. Researchers found that violent crime rose after lawmakers made that change in 2010.
Democratic members of the committee also pointed to lax regulations around CCW in the state as an issue.
“It is very different,” House Minority Leader Lupe Contreras said about CCW in the state. Contreras contended that there is no guarantee that a permit holder is a responsible gun owner. “It makes you a person who pays 60 bucks and took an online course.”
Activists with the gun control group Moms Demand Action also voiced their opposition to the bill, saying that combining college age adults with firearms could lead to accidental shootings and more. Rogers called that a “specious argument.”
Republicans also contended that gun violence is not perpetuated by CCW holders.
“I believe that number is minute or doesn’t exist,” Rep. Quang Nguyen, the Republican chairman of the committee and a firearms instructor, said about crimes committed by CCW permit holders.
Arizona saw four shootings by CCW permit holders from 2007 to 2018, according to data compiled by the Violence Policy Center. The most recent shooting led to the death of a U.S. deputy marshal.
In total, there have been over 2,500 deaths attributed to shooters with CCW permits and 37 mass shootings committed by CCW permit holders, according to the data.
The bill was approved along party lines and is now set for consideration by the full House.
The committee also approved Senate Bill 1189, which would bar any city, town, county or municipality from enacting any ordinance, rule or policy that impacts gun shows and prohibits them from occurring.
The bill adds language to existing state law that prohibits any political subdivision from enacting any ordinance or tax regarding the “transportation, possession, carrying, sale, transfer, purchase, acquisition, gift, devise, storage, licensing, registration, discharge or use” of a firearm as well as their accessories.
It also won approval on party lines and will next be considered by the full House.
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[1] Url:
https://azmirror.com/briefs/proposals-allowing-concealed-guns-on-college-campuses-gun-shows-in-az-cities-advance/
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