Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2001 10:31:18 EST From: freemanaz@aol.com Subject: [lpaz-discuss] Gun advocates win big in Phoenix To: lpaz-discuss@yahoogroups.com Cc: Essprsogal@aol.com, wwalker@primenet.com Reply-To: lpaz-discuss@yahoogroups.com
Subj: Gun advocates win big in Phoenix Date: 2/14/01 6:17:50 AM US Mountain Standard Time From: rineer@QuixNet.net (Kenneth Rineer) Reply-to: rineer@QuixNet.net (Kenneth Rineer) To: wood@myblueheaven.com (Scott Wood), r.destephens@worldnet.att.net (Rick Destephens), murphy@brassroots.org (Phil Murphy), Amdalgic@earthlink.net (Ken Knight), mk19gunner@juno.com (Gary Taylor), carlos@theriver.com (Carlos Alvarez)
Firearms Action Committee Legisltive Update February 14, 2001
Your Hard Work Paid Off
You all did a great job!!!! Keep up the pressure. We have a long way to go.
We still need to get SB1268 scheduled for a hearing and we have HB 2347 coming back up next week since the Demo's walked out
Read and enjoy. We don't get these kind of victories often. So cheerish it while you can.
This says it better than I could:
Ken
Tucson, Arizona Wednesday, 14 February 2001
Capitol Link In Phoenix Gun advocates win big in Phoenix By Howard Fischer CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES
PHOENIX - Gun rights advocates won at the Legislature yesterday, including victories over laws backed by the Tucson City Council and the Pima county attorney.
* The Senate Judiciary Committee rejected a bill pushed by Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall that would make adults criminally responsible for allowing youngsters to obtain guns.
* That same committee killed a bill to require background checks of buyers who purchase weapons at gun shows.
The city of Tucson had supported that measure as a way of backing up its plan to require checks at gun shows held at the Tucson Convention Center.
* A House committee, meanwhile, passed a law to decriminalize carrying a concealed weapon without a permit. It would result in less than the fine for running a red light.
Gun show checks
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 4-3 to kill SB 1566, which would have mandated that anyone who buys a weapon at a gun show go through a background check, whether from a licensed dealer or a private seller.
Sen. Harry Mitchell, D-Tempe, said many crimes are committed with illegally purchased weapons and noted that the gun used to kill three employees at a Tucson Pizza Hut was purchased at a Tucson Convention Center gun show.
That argument didn't impress Sen. Tom Smith, R-Phoenix. "A potential criminal who wants a gun is going to get one," he said.
Gun responsibility
The responsibility measure, SB 1549, would make it illegal for an adult to leave a weapon where a child could get at it. But it was pulled from consideration after it apparently lacked the votes for approval.
LaWall recited a litany of people killed or injured in accidents by youngsters with guns. "Each one of these guns started off in the hands of an adult," she said.
Darren LaSorte, lobbyist for the National Rifle Association, called the bill "the boldest attack that I've seen to the individual right of self-defense."
In a day filled with discussions of the rights of gun owners, lawmakers were poised to allow individuals with concealed weapons to go into bars and get served alcoholic beverages. But that action was stopped when Democrats on the House Committee on Retirement and Government Operations walked out, leaving the panel without a quorum and forcing it to adjourn.
That bill, and another to strip cities of any right to regulate guns, are expected to be back on the agenda next week, this time with all Republicans present.
That same House panel voted to reduce the penalty for illegally carrying a weapon. It would be a petty offense, with no more than a $50 fine.
Existing law allows most individuals to obtain a special state permit to carry a concealed weapon after undergoing a background check and training classes. But those classes cost up to $250.
Rep. Randy Graf, R-Green Valley, sponsor of HB 2562, said the state Constitution guarantees the right to bear arms. He said there is no reason to make criminals out of people who simply decide to exercise that right.
Eric Edwards, representing the Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police, said the offense should remain a misdemeanor. He said police who stop cars while investigating drive-by shootings are allowed to book an offender into jail and even search the vehicle as part of the arrest procedure, something that would not be possible under Graf's plan.
The same committee also approved HB 2313 which allows anyone with a valid permit from another state to carry a concealed weapon in Arizona.
In a related issue, the panel ratified HB 2514, which immunizes the owners and operators of shooting ranges from nuisance lawsuits and other liability if the businesses were in compliance with noise regulations in effect when they went into operation.
Dems walk out over gun gambit
Robbie Sherwood The Arizona Republic Feb. 14, 2001
An attempt to scale back a battery of gun laws was interrupted Tuesday when angry Democrats walked out of a House committee.
Proposals would:
. Reduce the penalty for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit from a misdemeanor to a petty offense with a $50 fine (HB2562).
. Legalize visitors' out-of-state concealed-weapons licenses in state parks (HB2213).
. Undo a year-old agreement allowing cities to ban guns in city buildings (HB2347).
. Allow a person carrying a concealed weapon to be served liquor in a bar (HB2218).
Democrats felt the Committee on Retirement and Government Operations was not the proper forum.
"These bills should have been heard in the Judiciary Committee, but I guess they felt like they had the votes here," said Rep. Carlos Avelar, D-Phoenix, who walked out with Reps. Carmine Cardamone, D-Tucson; Debora Norris, D-Sells; and Albert Tom, D-Chambers.
The Democrats said Chairwoman Debra Brimhall, R-Pinedale, was rushing the bills and limiting testimony.
Two bills that advanced, 4-3, before the walkout were HB2562 and HB2213.
The bill reducing the penalty for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit drew criticism from Linda Blackwell of Halt Gun Violence.
"Carrying a concealed weapon without a permit is not a traffic ticket," Blackwell said. "It's against the law and should stay that way."
Bill sponsor Randy Graf, R-Green Valley, said, "A lot of the comments I've heard make it sound like because you carry a weapon you are a criminal. I find that repulsive."
The Democrats were able to halt debate on the gun bills when Rep. Ted Carpenter, R-Glendale, stepped out of the meeting. With four committee members out of the room, Brimhall had no quorum.
She said she would have held the bills if concerns had been raised before the meeting and called the walkout unnecessary.
Reach the reporter at robbie.sherwood@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8146.
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