Tucson, Arizona Friday, 7 February 2003
By Howard Fischer
CAPITOL MEDIA SERVICES
PHOENIX - Arizonans would pay a stiffer fine for speeding than for illegally carrying a concealed weapon under the terms of legislation approved Thursday by a House panel.
Members of the House Judiciary Committee voted 6-5 to make the crime a petty offense punishable by no more than a $50 fine. Now those who do not have a permit can face up to six months in jail and a $1,200 fine.
What concerned police officers who testified against the bill even more was that current law allows them to not only take the person into custody but also take the weapon. Andy Swann of the Department of Public Safety said all his officers would be able to do under this plan is issue the offender a citation and send the person - with the weapon - down the road.
The legislation, HB 2321, was actually one of three measures dealing with gun rights approved Thursday by the panel.
By a 10-1 count, committee members also voted to allow those who can legally carry a weapon concealed in their home state to do the same while visiting Arizona. That approval of HB 2353 came over objections from police that most other states have less stringent training requirements - and one requires none at all.
They also voted 8-4 to approve HCR 2025, a resolution declaring that gun shows "provide a safe, historical, valuable and indispensable community service" and that they should be "protected from those who would further regulate, encumber or eliminate them through a campaign of misinformation."
That move came over the objection of Mary Judge Ryan, chief deputy Pima County attorney, who said gun shows are a place where weapons can be purchased by those not otherwise legally entitled to have them, such as felons, juveniles and the mentally ill. That is because sellers at these shows need not conduct the same background checks on buyers that retailers must perform.
Ryan conceded, though, that personal sales, ranging from yard sales to newspaper ads, are not regulated, either.
The fight over concealed weapons surrounds contentions by Rep. Randy Graf, R-Green Valley, that any laws prohibiting Arizonans from carrying guns any way they want violate the state Constitution, which specifies that "the right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself or the state shall not be impaired."
History, however, is against Graf. Even Darren LaSorte, lobbyist for the National
Rifle Association, acknowledged that it was illegal for Arizonans to carry concealed
weapons until 1994. That law requires those seeking a permit to get at least
16 hours of training, which includes everything from how to handle a gun to
when deadly force can be used by a citizen.