Posted on 06/29/2009 9:51:27 PM PDT by greatdefender
PHOENIX — Saying it will make people safer, state senators voted Friday to let people with concealed weapons permits carry them onto college and university campuses where they are now forbidden.
The 15-6 vote on the provision in HB 2439 came after backers said they believe that having people who are licensed by the state to have weapons should cut down on the number of massacres that occur on campuses. And Sen. John Huppenthal, R-Chandler, said that has happened in Arizona.
He did not refer by name to the 2002 incident at the University of Arizona where three instructors at the College of Nursing were slain by student Robert S. Flores Jr. who then turned the gun on himself.
But Huppenthal said the evidence shows that it makes sense, from a safety standpoint, to let people carry guns.
“The states that have concealed carry (laws) have statistically significant smaller mass shootings,’’ he said.
Huppenthal said he would not support guns on public school campuses, saying Arizona has no history of massacres on those campuses.
“The situation is different in our universities,’’ he said.
“We’ve had a mass shooting in our universities,’’ Huppenthal continued. “We sort of have a track record of not being safe in our universities.’’
And he said that, based on the research, allowing those who have concealed weapons permits to bring them onto campuses would mean “our universities would be safer.’’
University of Arizona lobbyist Greg Fahey said his school opposes allowing anyone to have guns on campus. And Fahey said he’s not convinced that rule should be waived for those with permits to carry concealed weapons even though they have undergone background checks, training in state laws and been shown to be proficient in the use of the gun.
“Our chief of police and the police of all three universities have consistently said that their experience is that having people with guns is just more of an invitation to have accidents, to have problems,’’ Fahey said. “And they don’t want anyone who’s not a sworn officer being armed on campus.’’
But Huppenthal said he’s not convinced that students and faculty are safer with gun-free campuses.
The senator said his requests for information from universities shows “they haven’t done any careful analysis’’ of the crimes. And what they have done, he said, only involves those crimes on campus.
“But the truth is, there’s a large number of rapes of coeds as they leave campus and they go to their home,’’ Huppenthal said. He said these women are forced to leave any guns at home — and leave themselves vulnerable while walking to class — because current rules prohibit weapons on campus.
And what the chief of police fails to realize from a tactical point of view is those INSIDE the building have the highest level of information and understanding of what’s going on. The Columbine massacre proved you can’t count on the police as many were slaughtered while officers stood outside waiting for the SWAT team.
No slam on the officers, they were following their protocol and training. Why wouldn’t they want someone who’s got the highest/most accurate info armed in a situation like this? It would take a perfectly trained SWAT team minutes (probably 15 at least) to get to the location and figure out what’s going on, whereas the students or faculty could know within seconds or minutes. Way to go AZ, you show you trust your people!
“The states that have concealed carry (laws) have statistically significant smaller mass shootings,’’ he said.
“We’ve had a mass shooting in our universities,’’
Huppenthal continued. “We sort of have a track record of not being safe in our universities.’’ Huppenthal said he would not support guns on public school campuses, saying Arizona has no history of massacres on those campuses. "
Huppenthal sounds very self-contradictory and confused.....DEFINITELY should not be allowed to carry a gun.
I used to contribute to the FOP (Fraternal Order of Police) when they would call me every year until I realized that about 99% of the leadership in police departments are pro-gun control.
“Our chief of police and the police of all three universities have consistently said that their experience is that having people with guns is just more of an invitation to have accidents, to have problems,’’ Fahey said.I used to contribute to the FOP (Fraternal Order of Police) when they would call me every year until I realized that about 99% of the leadership in police departments are pro-gun control.
I think you're right. Here's my recent story about guns and LEOs, if you're interested:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2276706/posts?page=44#17
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