Will Ducey lead on gun control — or follow?
Gov. Doug Ducey saw a lot of red in the form of protesting teachers on Wednesday. Will he be red-faced later this month in the presence of youngsters marching to curb gun violence, or will Ducey do what we pay him to do? Lead.
Since the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, students from across the nation have been lobbying legislatures, staging demonstrations, making public appearance and advocating for the kind of commonsense gun regulations that elected officials have ignored — particularly in Republican-controlled legislatures like Arizona’s.
On March 24, the kids from Florida will lead what they call a “March for Lives” in Washington, D.C., with companion demonstrations in cities across the United States.
Including a number in Arizona. Ducey has said he wants to do something about gun violence.
He told the Arizona Capitol Times,
“This is something that’s all our responsibility. These are our kids and our public schools. And it’s not only the kids. It’s the teachers that are teaching the kids, the people that work inside these schools, and we want to have them as safe as possible.”
But, while Ducey talks the talk, will he walk the walk? Will he literally or only figuratively support the teenagers?
The Arizona Republic’s Kaila White spoke with the young organizers of the planned Phoenix march, 16-year-old Samantha Lekberg of Surprise and 17year-old Jordan Harb of Mesa.
They support a series of gun measures that have been introduced in the Arizona Legislature, none of which has even been given a hearing.
Ducey has not spoken loudly and publicly about the bills.
The proposals, which the teens support, would institute universal background checks on all gun sales (closing the so-called gun-show loophole). Others would allow authorities to remove weapons for domestic-violence offenders and some mentalhealth issues, and — easiest of all — they would ban bump stocks, which transform assault rifles into something close to an automatic weapon.
Lekberg told The Republic, “So young people, now more than ever, understand the issue that’s going on because we are the targets. We are forced to quit being so naive when things like this happen.”
How about the rest of us? When are we going to quit being so naive — about politicians?
Democratic Rep. Randall Friese introduced several of the gun bills.
The Republicans who control the House didn’t give them a hearing.
Why?
Friese told me, “They (Republicans in control) get away with not being held accountable because it’s never heard. If it were heard, the committee could weigh in. Stakeholders could testify. And then we (lawmakers) would hold ourselves accountable by having to say ‘no’ or ‘yes.’ But we never get to that point.”
Democratic Rep. Mitzi Epstein wrote a letter to Ducey, signed by 49 other lawmakers, in which they asked the governor “to quickly, decisively and compassionately to protect all of Arizona school children by convening a Task Force on the Prevention of Potential School Violence.”
When it comes to firearms, Arizona lawmakers do not usually act “quickly” and “decisively” or ... at all.
Will Ducey?
Finally?
Because the teenagers aren’t waiting around. Their GoFundMe account already has raised nearly $14,000.
They’re talking the talk.
And later this month, they’ll be walking the walk.