I’ve been getting a lot of traffic recently to my post about SB 1467 so I thought it would be prudent to do a follow-up with some (hopefully) useful information.
First off, while the bill is often publicized as allowing “guns in the classroom”, that is not the case. Rather, the bill simply adds a section to the existing law which says:
Notwithstanding subsection D of this section and section 15?341, the governing board of an educational institution shall not adopt or enforce any policy or rule that prohibits the lawful possession or carrying of a weapon on a public right-of-way.
In short, if one can legally possess or carry a firearm off-campus, one would then be able to possess or carry a firearm on a sidewalk, street, or other public place on-campus. Possession of firearms in the classroom would continue to be prohibited.
According to the Arizona State Legislature’s fact sheet about the bill, there are two caveats:
- The bill does not “preclude school districts from conducting approved gun safety programs on school campuses” which would presumably be held in classrooms and presumably involve the presence of actual (albeit unloaded) firearms.
- The bill does not “apply to private universities, colleges, high schools or common schools or other private educational institutions (A.R.S. ? 13-2911).”
Honestly, I can’t really see how this would be remotely controversial — law-abiding people can already carry in public places in Arizona, why should they be prohibited from carrying in a public place on campus? If one can legally walk down a sidewalk on a public street while discretely armed, why can’t one do the same on a sidewalk on a public university? It makes no sense for the same action to be legal on one side of a street, but illegal on the other side.
All the official information about the bill itself can be found at the Arizona State Legislature website for the bill.
The official “Campus” of UofA actually extends farther than most people realize. Most of University (the street) is actually part of the campus IIRC. So are a lot of areas. I do wish they haden’t watered this down though….
Richard
Indeed. I was going to mention that, but elected not to because I was lazy. 🙂
Either way, it’s a step in the right direction.
First off, while the bill is often publicized as allowing ?guns in the classroom?, that is not the case.
More’s the pity.
At least the goblins will have to worry about an ad-hoc quick-reaction force of armed citizens, should they attempt to slaughter students in classrooms. I would like to think that UA or ASU would not want the negative publicity that would go with prosecuting an armed citizen who, upon hearing gunfire inside a campus building, intervened and ended the incident by shooting the assailant. Somehow, headlines of “U of A Presses Charges Against Woman Who Prevented Another Virginia Tech” don’t strike me as being in the school’s best interest….