Arizona Tied for Worse Gun Saftey Laws in US

by Alia Beard Rau - May. 5, 2011 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Arizona this year earned a zero for its loose gun laws.

The state joined Utah and Alaska as having the worst gun-safety laws in the nation, according to the Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence.
The Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group has ranked states for four years. It released its latest ranking Wednesday.

 

The group judges states based on laws on the books as of 2010 because some Legislatures are still working on bills this session.

Gun-rights activists called Arizona's ranking proof that they are successfully protecting gun rights, and they vow to continue their efforts. Gun-violence-prevention groups said it's proof that the state is continuing to move away from the values of most Arizonans.
"After the Tucson shootings when the Legislature and other officials in Arizona should be doing more to protect its citizens because it is too easy for dangerous people to get dangerous weapons, the Legislature tries to get more guns in more public places," said Brian Malte, director of state legislation for the Brady Campaign, referring to a bill lawmakers passed this session.

The Brady Campaign assigns up to 100 points total for a state's gun laws.

Arizona received its lowest ranking this year.

The first two years of the scorecard, Arizona received 6 points. Last year, Arizona earned 2 points because of its law that allows state universities to ban firearms on campus. This year, it ended up with zero points. It got the 2 points again for the university law, but the group for the first time docked states 2 points if they do not require a permit to carry a concealed weapon. Arizona passed such a law last year.
The amount of points given varied by topic. The greater the public benefit the group perceives, the higher the points. There were 17 points possible for requiring background checks for all firearms, 7 points for requiring background checks at gun shows, 5 points for selling childproof locks with all handguns, and 2 points for not forcing employers to allow guns in their parking lots.

California, with 80 points, received the highest ranking this year.

No state has ever received below a zero, but with the addition of docked points, that could change. In fact, Arizona could be among the first if it passes bills to require universities to allow guns on campus and local governments to allow guns in public buildings. Bills that would make those changes to state law passed the Legislature but were vetoed by Gov. Jan Brewer this year.

The Brady Campaign, which has fought gun violence since it was started in 1974, was renamed in honor of Jim and Sarah Brady in 2001 for their work on gun issues after Jim, a former White House spokesman, was shot and injured during the Ronald Reagan assassination attempt.

Arizona Citizens Defense League spokesman Charles Heller called Arizona's ranking a victory and said his group is working for negative points next year. His group lobbies for gun rights in Arizona and was behind this year's bills to allow guns on college campuses and into public buildings.

"Hallelujah, we finally got a perfect score," Heller said. "We're a bit happier with the Brady Campaign than we are with the Arizona Legislature."

The Legislature watered down the league's two bills before finally passing them, including making changes to allow guns on campus rights of way but not inside buildings.

Heller said he had written letters to the Brady Campaign asking for a zero score.
"We've been trying for that for years," he said. "It means we're doing the right thing."
Hildy Saizow, president of Arizonans for Gun Safety, said the state's ranking is not surprising.

"Over the last several years, the Legislature has continued to relax our gun laws and move us into this very extreme position," Saizow said. "It's particularly unfortunate because that's not where the Arizona public is."

The national coalition Mayors Against Illegal Guns released a poll in March that indicated that most of the 600 Arizonans surveyed opposed allowing guns in public buildings and on college campuses. Nearly half of those polled indicated they would like to see the state's laws surrounding gun sales toughened.

"It very clearly showed that Arizona voters really don't approve of what the Legislature has been doing," Saizow said.

Saizow blames the gun lobby, saying it has gone too far in Arizona. This session, she said, groups like hers finally began to push back - and won.

"We woke up the silent majority," she said, adding that the shooting near Tucson and the gun discussions that resulted have increased support for more restrictive gun laws. "For the first time, we got really organized."

In January, six people were killed and 13 wounded, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, during a shooting at a constituent event near Tucson.

Groups supporting gun restrictions held rallies at the universities, gathered for their own lobby day at the Legislature and called the governor asking her to veto the bills allowing guns on campus and in public buildings.

"It clearly made a difference," Saizow said.

She said her group's efforts to date have been defensive, trying to defeat measures proposed by the gun lobby. She hopes to soon go on the offensive.

"I think what you'll be seeing in the near future is an effort focusing on sensible gun laws," she said. "But what form that takes, I don't know at this point. Obviously, the Legislature is not interested in that sort of legislation."

And there will be more defensive work to do next year against an influential and well-funded gun lobby.

Heller said his group will be back next year with measures to put guns on campuses and public buildings. He said he believes part of the reason for the Legislature watering down the bills and the governor then vetoing them altogether was concern by Republicans about the political ramifications of signing such measures only months after the shooting near Tucson.

"After that terrible incident, they just couldn't provide themselves with any political cover to support what we were doing," he said. "But I really believe next year will be very different."
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/05/05/20110505arizona-gun-ranking-worst.html