Ariz. Democrats press governor for special session on gun control
Arizona Democrats are demanding Republican Gov. Doug Ducey call a special legislative session to pass tougher gun-control laws following another school mass shooting.
In a letter sent to Ducey on Friday morning, Democratic leaders in the Legislature said the shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas underscores the need for immediate action.
Their letter came hours after a teenage gunman
opened fire at Santa Fe High, killing at least nine students and one adult. Ten other people were injured. The shooting was the worst since Feb. 14, when a former student killed 17 people at a Florida high school and ignited a national debate on gun control.
“This morning you offered prayers for the Santa Fe community,” the Democrats’ letter states. “Governor, prayers are not enough.”
Later in the letter, the lawmakers wrote, “Let’s work together now before something catastrophic happens again in Arizona. Our kids deserve to be safe at school. Our constituents deserve to be safe in public places.”
It was signed by the top three Democrats in the Arizona House: Minority Leader Rebecca Rios of Phoenix, Assistant Minority Leader Randy Friese of Tucson, and Minority Whip Charlene Fernandez of Yuma.
Senate Minority Leader Katie Hobbs, D-Phoenix, also released a statement Friday calling for a special session to vote on gun-control measures, including universal background checks on all gun sales.
It’s unclear whether Ducey will heed lawmakers’ call for a special session, though his spokesman previously said he’s open to the idea.
After the Parkland shooting, Ducey proposed a gun-safety plan. That plan was shelved on the final day of the Legislature’s recent session, which ended May 4.
Daniel Scarpinato, Ducey’s spokesman, didn’t directly address Democrats’ call for a special session in a statement Friday afternoon. He said passing the governor’s school-safety plan remains a top priority.
“It’s disappointing that this plan was not passed by the Legislature, but the governor is committed to fighting for the common-sense reforms included in this comprehensive package,” Scarpinato said in a statement. “He encourages Republicans and Democrats to put politics aside and join in support. This is not a partisan issue.”
Scarpinato has previously said Ducey’s plan, Senate Bill 1519, failed because it “got caught up in some partisan politics and ideology.”
Members of both parties panned his proposal. Democrats said the plan didn’t go far enough, especially since it didn’t require universal background checks for gun sales.
Some Republican lawmakers said they worried it could violate constitutional liberties.
Ducey’s administration called the bill a middle-of-the-road approach. It was endorsed by the National Rifle Association, a powerful gun-rights lobbying group.
His plan called for about 100 more police officers in schools, a new type of restraining order to keep guns out of unstable people’s hands, more mental-health counseling in schools, and a school-safety tip hotline.
But lawmakers watered down SB 1519 as it advanced in the Legislature.
The restraining-order piece was scaled back so only law enforcement — not family members, teachers, school counselors or others — could petition a court to remove a dangerous individual’s guns.
Funding for school resource officers was also cut nearly in half.
Democrats and gun-control activists said Ducey’s plan failed because he didn’t seek bipartisan support. They’ve called for legislation that requires universal background checks, raises the minimum age to purchase a gun from 18 to 21, and bans bump stocks, devices that make semiautomatic rifles mimic fully automatic rifles.
But none of the 10 firearm-related bills Democrats sponsored this year got a public hearing in the GOP-dominated Legislature.
Ducey initially responded to the Santa Fe High School shooting in an earlymorning tweet Friday: “Praying for the community at Santa Fe High School in Texas. Thank you to all of the first responders at the scene this morning.”
His tweet was immediately panned by students with March for Our Lives Phoenix, who repeatedly blasted Ducey for refusing to meeting with them during the legislative session.
“We pray for those in Santa Fe because politicians like you don’t have the guts to take action and listen to the very kids suffering in and out of our classrooms,” March for Our Lives Phoenix tweeted.
Earlier this year, the group led a 15,000-person march to the Arizona Capitol. They also held a “die-in” protest in which they occupied several state buildings by lying on the ground to symbolize deaths from school shootings.
Student organizers said they plan to hold a candlelight vigil at the Capitol on Monday to honor victims of the 24 school shootings that have occurred since Parkland.