Ducey hints at comprehensive gun reform

Could Republican Gov. Doug Ducey and the GOP-dominated Legislature find common ground on a bipartisan proposal to regulate guns and improve school safety?

In a typical year at the Arizona Capitol, the answer to that question would undoubtedly bem “No.”

But this year might be different. During a radio interview Monday evening, Ducey said he would ask lawmakers to adopt a law that would allow courts to take guns away from people who are violent or mentally ill.

Citing the massacre in Florida and other recent mass shootings, Ducey said parents and police need a tool so that they can ask a judge to intervene in cases where a person has shown signs that they are a danger to others.

“If we can prevent it and use the power of the office and the law… that’s

what we’re going to do and I intend to do it,” Ducey said during the interview on KTAR-FM (92.3). “I think we need to act in those situations.”

The interview came after governor held nine meetings last week about the issue. He met with lawmakers, educators, prosecutors, students and other groups to hear their ideas about how to improve school safety after the shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people.

Legislation Ducey described Monday could be part of a compromise proposal.

The plan may also include stricter backgroundcheck laws for gun purchases and more police officers for schools, according to those familiar with the talks.

While Ducey hasn’t released specific proposals, he said a “framework” of the plan is sitting on his desk.

His attention to the issue is a significant development. Efforts to tighten gun restrictions in Arizona have fallen flat in the Legislature for years.

This year, not one of the 10 gun-related bills Democrats sponsored — including one similar to Ducey’s proposal to stop mentally ill people from possessing guns — has received a public hearing.

Ducey’s comments and his meetings about the issue with leaders from both political parties suggest a new momentum around the school and gun-safety debate.

Ducey’s vision of a grand compromise to tighten gun laws in Arizona — one of the most conservative states on Second Amendment issues — could face a tough road with lawmakers more inclined to try to loosen gun restrictions.

House Speaker J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, said Monday night that it’s too early to say how the governor’s foray into gun legislation might play out because he hasn’t released details of the proposal.

However, Mesnard said, he’s glad the conversation has started.

He said if there’s one “common denominator “among conservative and liberal lawmakers on the school-safety issue, it’s that more needs to be done to keep weapons away from people who have a mental illness.

“I hope we don’t let pure ideology get in the way,” Mesnard said. “We’re down here to do a job and I’m happy to be part of the effort of keeping our kids safe.”

But how quickly proposed legislation could come together is unclear. Democrats have suggested an outline of proposed legislation could come as early as this week, but the Ducey administration hasn’t given at timeline.

In recent weeks, Ducey has made comments about the issue that suggest openness to a compromise that includes tightened gun law while putting more law enforcement in schools.

“I am going to focus on background checks and school resource officers.” he said last month when asked by reporters.

“I want to keep these weapons out of the hands of people that want to cause harm to others, that are on the offense with these things. And I want to be protective of the Second Amendment along the way.”

Ducey’s attention to the issue comes as students throughout the state organize school walkouts and a March 24 protest to demand gun legislation. They have scheduled a mass walkout for Wednesday.

On Monday morning, Democratic lawmakers, a student from March for Our Lives Phoenix and several progressive groups held a press conference outside the Capitol to call on Ducey and state lawmakers to not dither on gun legislation.

Jordan Harb, a teen organizer of March for Our Lives Phoenix, emotionally described the fear he and his classmates face going to school in the wake of the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

“I don’t want to fear being killed in school,” said Harb, 17, a junior in high school from Mesa. “We’re here because you won’t do anything.”

Similar movements have sprung up around the country after the Parkland massacre, which involved a 19-year-old shooter with a history of run-ins with police.

Parents and students from the school pushed Florida legislators to enact gun-control legislation that includes a provision for a court to prohibit someone from having a gun if they’re mentally ill; increases the minimum age to buy a firearm to 21 from 18; and imposes a three-day waiting period on new gun purchases.

The National Rifle Association has sued to block the age provision, and progressive groups have blasted a portion of the law that allows some teachers to be armed.

Whether Arizona could enact a compromise on the scale of that seen in Florida is unclear given the makeup of the conservative state Legislature.

But Assistant House Minority Leader Randy Friese, D-Tucson, said he’s hopeful that could change given Ducey seemed open to Democrats’ ideas during their meeting.

“I think I’ve heard in him an intent to do something,” Friese said. “We certainly have never been at this point in my four years here. I’m hopeful that it’s meaningful and not just lip service to this problem.”

And Friese has reason to be skeptical.

In the past four years, he has sponsored at least 14 gun-related bills, from universal background checks to a ban on bump stocks. All of the bills have died without a public hearing.

Among the bills Democrats sponsored this year are House Bill 2140 and Senate Bill 1347, which would allow immediate family members or a police officer to petition a judge for an injunction to prohibit someone with mental-health issues from possessing a gun.

Friese said he’s hopeful that Ducey would also seriously consider proposals to create universal background checks for firearm purchasers or increase the minimum buyer age to 21.

On Monday, Ducey said his “greatest fear” as governor was being notified of a mass shooting in his state like those in Parkland or Las Vegas, where a gunman killed 58 people and injured more than 700 last year.

When a radio host on KTAR asked whether he’d spoken to the National Rifle Association about his plan, Ducey said he’s spoken to parents and local law enforcement, but not the NRA.

“We don’t think this is a partisan issue,” Ducey said. “We’d like to lead on this.”

The NRA, the country’s most visible and powerful gun-right lobbying organization, did not respond to a request for comment Monday.

Charles Heller, spokesman for the Arizona Citizens Defense League, a gun-rights advocacy group, said that while he supports efforts to make schools safer by improving building security and training for teachers, efforts to restrict guns are a non-starter.

“There is zero impairment of any right that will improve school safety,” Heller said.

He said the Citizens Defense League hasn’t been invited to be part of talks with Ducey, adding that “Ducey’s administration has not been terribly friendly to the right to keep and bear arms.”

Heller said the group views a potential plan like the Florida proposal as “surrender,” not compromise, though he said he’s confident that Ducey and the GOPled Legislature support gun rights more than Florida leaders.

A potential compromise could also draw opposition from some Democrats and progressive groups if it includes plans to put more police officers in schools, as Ducey suggested in his comments last month.

Ducey has, however, said he generally opposes arming school teachers with guns.

On Friday, a coalition of progressive Arizona groups sent the Legislature a letter stating they would fight any plan that includes more officers. Instead, they want more school counselors.

“In short: Arizona’s schools need fewer guns and more resources,” states the letter, which was signed by March for Our Lives Phoenix, the student group calling for gun legislation; along with 10 progressive-leaning organizations.

Harb, the teen organizer, said he knows many students who’ve battled depression or contemplated suicide and couldn’t get support from their school counselor.

“They can’t get help at our school because our psychologist has 4,000 students,” he said.

“I want to keep these weapons out of the hands of people that want to cause harm to others, that are on the offense with these things. And I want to be protective of the Second Amendment along the way.” Gov. Doug Ducey