Arizona is one of the nation’s top Second Amendment states, and legislators are working to augment those constitutional protections – even though these new policies are highly likely to be vetoed by Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs should the bills clear both the House and Senate.
One of those pieces of legislation, HB2332, sponsored by freshman Representative Selina Bliss, deals with firearms safety training in Arizona schools. According to the House summary of the bill, HB2332 “requires school districts and charter schools to provide one or more firearms safety training sessions.”
The Arizona House also revealed that “statute currently states that the Arizona Game and Fish Department may provide training in the safe handling and use of bows or firearms for schools that request this instruction….In addition to voluntary training in the use of bows and firearms, statute allows any school district or charter school to offer a one semester, one credit elective course in firearm marksmanship designated as the Arizona Gun Safety Program Course.”
The legislation requires the district or charter school to inform the parents of the students two weeks prior to the training and provides an allowance for the students to be excused from the training should the parents request it.
HB2332 cleared the House Military Affairs & Public Safety Committee on Monday, February 6, with a party-line 8-7 vote. Republicans Payne (Chairman), Jones (Vice Chairman), Gillette, Harris, Hendrix, Marshall, Nguyen, and Wilmeth voted in favor of the bill. Democrats Blattman, Longdon, Peshlakai, Quiñonez, Sun, Travers, and Tsosie voted to table the bill.
In an exclusive interview with AZ Free News, Representative Bliss explained why she introduced this bill:
“I introduced this bill to empower our youth to gain respect for and to be safe around firearms. The problem this bill is trying to solve is firearm accident prevention through education, so that kids are safe from firearm injuries and death. Most children are harmed by firearms when visiting a friend’s house and become curious about an unattended firearm. This one-time education in grades 6 through 12 is a small start, but will open dialogue between teachers, parents, and children on the safe handling and storage of firearms. I also introduced this bill because of my personal experience as a Concealed Carry Weapons (CCW) instructor as well as my experience as the Safety and EMS Director of the Arizona State Rifle and Pistol Association. In these roles I have come to see first-hand the value of education when it comes to empowering our youth.”
House Democrats vehemently opposed this legislation before and during committee debate. The Arizona House Democrats’ Twitter account tweeted “It’s back! BAD BILL ALERT” and bemoaned the failed amendment from Rep. Longdon “to make the firearms training opt-in instead of requiring students and parents to opt out.” Rep. Travers also stated, “If you want your Second Amendment rights then you take ownership of it. Don’t put the burden on somebody else.”
It’s back! BAD BILL ALERT: in House Military Affairs & Public Safety HB2332 mandatory firearms training in public schools. See below last year’s debate when then Rep. John Kavanagh said he would call Child Protective Services on parents who opt out. Watch: https://t.co/AkxW4bQfQxhttps://t.co/B6QOlb3BpH
Representative Bliss told AZ Free News that Arizonans should support this legislation because “this is a non-controversial safety subject that uses age-appropriate curriculum to teach middle and high school children what to do if they come across an unattended firearm…. firearm safety should be viewed as a life skills course important for all kids, similar to mechanics, wood shop, or cooking courses.”
During last year’s legislative session, a similar bill was introduced by Representative Bliss’s current seatmate, Representative Nguyen. HB 2448 was co-sponsored by Representatives Blackman, Bolick, Fillmore, Hoffman, and Senator Boyer. On February 24, 2022, this legislation passed the Arizona House by a vote of 31-28, with one member not voting. It passed the Senate Education Committee with a party-line vote of 5-3 before being held from final passage and transmission to then-Governor Doug Ducey’s desk.
Representative Bliss has confidence that “this bill will be considered, thoughtfully discussed, and passed through both chambers.” She hopes “both chambers can work together to keep our children safe!”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
I am heartbroken over the evil that has overcome Uvalde, Texas. And I, as a mom and a grandma who has grandchildren in the Litchfield Elementary School District, am outraged that our system has continued to fail us. Over the last twenty years, we’ve taught kids to hide, protect, and wait for help. More must be done.
Gun-free zones are dangerous, and it is time to protect schools like we protect airports, hospitals, courthouses, and banks and we must stop threats with equal or greater force. I support the Second Amendment and believe that education is the key to gun safety, not legislation. In an era of increased crime, reduced funding for police, and long response times – I must be my own first responder to protect myself, my family, and my community, which is why I carry a firearm. The evil in Uvalde was not caused by a gun, it was caused by a broken system that continues to push paper, policies, and legislation versus solving the root issue. We must heal the pain in our communities, strengthen families, and improve economic opportunities. Most importantly, it is TIME to fund meaningful programs that address mental health, safety, and firearm awareness and training.
Cheryl Todd is the Arizona State Director for the DC Project.
For the second time this year, Attorney General Mark Brnovich and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt have authored a “friend-of-the-court” brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of a challenge to the constitutionally of a New York state law which severely restricts who can obtain a concealed carry permit.
On Tuesday, Brnovich, Schmitt, and the attorneys general of 24 other states joined in urging the justices to declare New York’s subjective-issue firearm license process as unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. The case is New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Corlett.
Forty-two states, including Arizona, have objective-issue systems where a concealed carry permit is issued to an individual who meets a certain set of objective criteria such as a background check, a mental health records review, fingerprinting, knowledge of applicable laws, and firearms training.
However, New Yorkers who want a concealed carry permit must demonstrate to a state worker some type of “special need” for self-protection outside their home that is greater than the average citizen. In effect, the law serves as a de facto ban on most New Yorkers who want to exercise their right to protect themselves when away from home.
The 26 signors of the brief believe they have “a unique perspective that should aid the Court in weighing the value and importance of the rights implicated by the questions presented.” In particular, they cite empirical evidence that legal concealed carry holders are significantly less likely than the general public to commit a crime.
In addition, a 2013 National Research Council study is cited, showing that crime victims who resist with a gun are less likely to suffer serious injury than victims who resist in other ways or who offer no resistance at all.
“Those who obtain firearms-carry permits are, and remain, overwhelmingly more law-abiding than the general population. That conclusion makes perfect sense, as permit holders must typically pass background and other checks prior to being issued a license under state regimes,” the brief argues.
Brnovich issued a statement after the brief was filed Tuesday.
“Law-abiding citizens should not require the consent of faceless bureaucrats to exercise their right to keep and bear arms. New York cannot override the Second Amendment or the natural right of self-preservation,” Brnovich said, adding he will continue to vigorously protect the constitutional rights of all Americans.
According to the attorney general’s office, Arizona implemented a licensed concealed carry regime in 1994. That year, the state experienced 10.5 murders per 100,000 people compared to the nationwide rate of 9 murders per 100,000.
Then in 2010, Arizona implemented a right-to-carry for all law-abiding citizens, even without a license. By 2016, Arizona’s murder rate was 5.5 per 100,000, even though more guns were being lawfully carried in the state.
Joining Arizona and Missouri are the state attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
The July 20 brief follows one filed in February in which the 26 attorneys general argued why the U.S. Supreme Court should take up the case. The Justices announced in April that they will take up the case in its next term which starts Oct. 4, 2021.
The New York case, however, is not the only Second Amendment challenge Brnovich’s office has been involved with this year.
In April, he co-authored an amicus brief signed by nearly the attorneys general from nearly two dozen states urging the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the Second Amendment by declaring California’s law limiting magazine capacities as unconstitutional.
Then in May, Brnovich led another multi-state coalition in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review a New Jersey law which limits magazine capacities and requires gun owners to surrender to law enforcement certain magazines which are legal in 43 other states.
And last month, Brnovich led a coalition of 22 states in writing a brief to the Ninth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals in an effort to strike down a three-decade-old California law that bans popular rifles, even when kept in the home for self-defense.
Arizona has joined a coalition of 22 states before the Ninth Circuit defending the Second Amendment rights of American citizens. The states are asking the court to declare California’s law limiting magazine capacities as unconstitutional.
Arizona, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming are filing a legal brief at the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Duncan v. Rodriquez – a challenge of California’s unconstitutional ban on extremely common magazines for firearms.
In the amicus brief, the states’ attorneys general note that California Penal Code 32310 violates the Second Amendment: “This Court, therefore, should not apply a balancing approach – like strict scrutiny or intermediate scrutiny – to a ban on arms commonly used by law abiding citizens for lawful purposes. Such an approach would be inconsistent with the decisions of the Supreme Court in Heller, McDonald, and Caetano.”
“The enumerated right to bear arms reflected in the Second Amendment is fundamental and predates the Bill of Rights. The right is important to millions of Americans, including many of our most vulnerable citizens living in disadvantaged communities. The arms at issue in these proceedings are commonly used by millions of law-abiding citizens for a myriad of lawful purposes,” added the attorneys general.
