Protecting weapons over people
Critics of Arizona lawmakers say our elected officials have ignored the concerns of the people they serve in the aftermath of the horrific massacre of schoolchildren in Newtown, Conn. That simply is not true. The Republicans who control the Legislature are fully aware of the community’s distress over gun violence and have taken bold action to serve the constituents who mean the most to them — the National Rifle Association, Arizona State Rifle and Pistol
Association, Gun Owners of Arizona and the Arizona Citizens Defense League.
Last week, the Legislature passed House Bill 2455, a proposal strongly supported by the organizations listed above.
The new law does nothing to protect Arizona citizens from being destroyed by guns.
It does, however, protect guns from being destroyed by Arizona citizens.
HB 2455, which passed along party lines, reinforces existing law and requires the state, as well as all county and local governments, to sell weapons that come into their possession. This expands state law to include municipal buyback programs. Lawmakers previously passed a law preventing the destruction of weapons collected through forfeiture. For example, when a court orders a gun to be surrendered to authorities after the owner is convicted of a felony in which a weapon was used.
“A crime victim can’t even ask a city to destroy the gun that may have injured them,” said Hildy Saizow, president of Arizonans for Gun Safety. “It’s crazy.”
The new law appears to be a reaction to local buyback programs like one planned for next month in Phoenix. In that case, a $100,000 private donation was made to the city, which will hand out $100 and $200 gift cards to those who turn in weapons that are meant to be destroyed.
Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton said gun buybacks “allow for unwanted weapons to get off the street, and that’s a positive thing for our Phoenix Police Department.”
When HB 2455 was being debated in the state House, Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Phoenix, offered an amendment that would have allowed guns to be destroyed if the owner requested it.
The National Rifle Association, Arizona State Rifle and Pistol Association, Gun Owners of Arizona and the Arizona Citizens Defense League opposed that idea.
Guns can be sold for cash, proponents argued. Guns have value. People, on the other hand … “No one is saying gun buy- backs solve our problems,” Saizow told me. “But they certainly don’t do any harm, unless you have such a worshipful view of weapons that they mean more to you than actual people. Or maybe gun lobbyists mean more to you than regular citizens.”
Early in the legislative session, Rep. Chad Campbell, D-Phoenix, introduced a proposal that would have required background checks on all gun sales as well as a bill that would have prohibited anyone who has been voluntarily hospitalized for mental-health evaluation or treatment from possessing a firearm.
When I spoke to Campbell about his proposals, he told me, “I don’t want to take the guns away from anyone who has a gun. I’m not even talking about banning any types of weapons. All I’m saying is that we should not allow the wrong people to get firearms: people with criminal backgrounds or people who have serious mental-health issues at the time they try to get a weapon.” His bills went nowhere. During the recent Senate debate on HB 2455, Sen. Steve Gallardo, D-Phoenix, offered a series of amendments he be- lieved might address the concerns of Arizona citizens.
“I knew these things didn’t have a chance, given the control the other party has,” Gallardo told me, “but I believed that each of them deserved a debate. There should have been hearings to allow citizens to speak. That didn’t happen.”
His amendment proposing mandatory background checks? Failed. An amendment to ban armor-piercing bullets? Failed. An amendment prohibiting large-capacity ammunition magazines? Failed. It went on and on. At each stage of the legislative process, weapons were protected. Weapons have value. Arizona legislators should tell the federal government about this. Congress is always looking for ways to cut the deficit. Imagine what it could get for the rifle that killed President John F. Kennedy or the revolver that wounded President Ronald Reagan.