A bill that would allow concealed carry of firearms on all public school campuses in Arizona is awaiting final Senate approval.
House Bill 2338 would prohibit public schools, kindergarten through college, from banning legally owned guns on adjacent sidewalks and streets. Public right-of-ways near playgrounds and any other publicly accessible spaces would also not be protected.
If passed, public colleges such as Arizona State University could not prohibit vehicles carrying weapons from driving through or parking on campus. The ASU Police Department voiced its concern about this piece of legislation.
“We haven’t thoroughly analyzed this bill, but based on the advice of law enforcement and public safety experts, we feel strongly that allowing weapons on campus would increase the risk of gun-related injuries to both campus police and our students,” the ASU Police Department said in an official statement on behalf of the university.
Crystal Alvarez, a sophomore at the downtown Phoenix ASU campus, said she was worried about more guns being around campus, especially after the Northern Arizona University shooting last October, which left one dead and three injured.
If this legislation passes, Alvarez said she believes more training requirements and tighter restrictions for acquiring guns would be necessary.
“I would probably feel a lot more anxious and I would prefer for them to stay farther away from campuses,” Alvarez said.
Since a variety of factors play into why these shootings happen, Alvarez said the current laws prohibiting weapons on and around campuses create more definitive boundaries.
Private schools and academies would retain the power to prohibit weapons on and around campus, but public schools would lose that power as long as the carrier possesses their arms legally, according to the bill.
Katee Espericueta, a junior at ASU, believes people already hold weapons in their vehicles on and near the university. But she thinks the focus should be on to whom weapons are permitted.
“I’m okay with it being allowed as long as the people who are carrying the weapons in their vehicles have permits, go through the training, and the safety and all that to understand what it means to carry a weapon like that,” said Espericueta.
The ASU Police Department says student safety is a top priority.
“It’s also important to recognize that our campuses are home to preschools, elementary schools and high schools, and every day they are visited by families and community groups,” ASU police said in a statement. “Introducing firearms into such an active learning environment would be disruptive.”
State Rep. Bob Thorpe, R-Flagstaff, teamed up with Kelly Townsend, R-Mesa, and Judy Burges, R-Sun City West, as primary sponsors of the bill.
This trio and their 11 Republican cosponsors must await a final vote from the Senate before HB 2338 reaches Gov. Doug Ducey’s desk for consideration.
Contact the reporter at Lisa.Travis@asu.edu.
