Attorney General Terry Goddard: Keep Concealed Weapons Regulations

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Updating an earlier post Sen. Sylvia Allen (R-State of Constant Fear) loves her concealed weapons, SB 1270 passed out of Sen. Jonathan "Tin Horn Dictator" Paton's Senate Judiciary Committee on a 4-3 party-line vote on Friday. No-permit hidden guns advance in state Senate | www.azstarnet.com ®

Siding with gun owners over cops, the Senate Judiciary Committee agreed Friday to let people carry concealed weapons without getting a state permit.

The 4-3 vote came despite comments from several police officers who said letting anyone at least 18 have a hidden gun will make their jobs more dangerous. Friday's vote sends the measure to the full Senate.

Sen. Russell Pearce (R-Mesa) is last week's winner of "that's the craziest f#@king thing I have ever heard" award for this statement: "Let's give the good guys the right to do what I think our founders decided a long time ago when they recognized our God-given rights to bear arms." WTF?

The Founding Father's rejected the notion of any divine right of kings for the rights of man that flow from the consent of the governed. "The right of the people to keep and bear arms" was not part of the Constitution as originally written and adopted. The Second Amendment was later added as part of the Bill of Rights, and even then was subject to the qualifying introductory clause "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State…" Hmm, no mention of any "God-given right" there. I know Pearce fancies himself an expert on the Constitution. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Moreover, where is it recorded in the Bible, or anywhere else for that matter, that God gave man the right to keep and bear arms? Guns were not even invented until the late 14th century. Sen. Pearce's attempt to raise the right of gun possession to a divine right which flows directly from God is a sacrilegious attempt to reframe this issue in terms of "who are we, as mere mortals, to question the divine wisdom of God?" Apparently Sen. Pearce is still living in the late 14th century. And Sen. Pearce's sacrilegious gun worship arguably violates the first two Commandments: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me," and "Thou shalt not worship any graven image." Something Sen. Pearce ought to contemplate.

In response to all the Looney Tunes craziness from Sens. Allen and Pearce, Attorney General Terry Goddard has a rational guest opinion in the Arizona Daily Star today Keep concealed-weapons regulations:

Protecting Arizona is my responsibility as attorney general. That is why I strongly oppose a proposal being considered by Arizona's Legislature to allow all gun owners over 18 to carry concealed weapons without a permit.

Only two states allow gun owners to carry concealed without a permit. This proposal, Senate Bill 1270, would be a radical change to Arizona's gun laws. It would endanger law enforcement officers and erode community safety.

This is not a question of who is allowed to own guns in Arizona. Our constitution unequivocally guarantees Arizonans the right to bear arms.

Rather, this proposal concerns whether those who carry a concealed weapon should have the training and skill needed to do so safely.

Arizona requires gun owners to take an eight-hour course in gun laws and gun safety and demonstrate basic proficiency using a firearm before getting a concealed-carry permit. This process promotes safety and gives those who choose to carry concealed a basic understanding of their rights and responsibilities as gun owners.

The law has been in place since 1994, and it works well. In the past 15 years, 125,000 Arizonans have obtained concealed-carry permits; only 804 have been turned down.

Senate Bill 1270 would eliminate the permit requirement entirely. It would allow all gun owners over 18 years old to carry concealed weapons. It would also allow those with a permit to carry concealed weapons into numerous public buildings where they are banned, such as public libraries.

This dangerous proposal puts everyone at risk, but no one more than Arizona's law enforcement officers. Arizona's statewide association of police chiefs and statewide sheriffs association have joined me in opposing Senate Bill 1270.

Without affecting gun ownership rights, the current permit system keeps law enforcement and citizens safe, because those who carry a concealed weapon have armed themselves with the basic training to use that gun safely. I stand with the men and women of law enforcement in supporting the current law and opposing this radical and unnecessary change.

The Arizona Republic similarly weighs in with an editorial opinion in favor of maintaining the current law. Let's keep system for controlling concealed guns

Call your state senator today and tell them to vote no on SB 1270.