Six months after Arizona began implementing a law permitting concealed firearms in Arizona bars and restaurants, some ASU students and officials are still concerned about the measure’s effects.
The law, which allows legal possession of concealed firearms on liquor-licensed premises, became law on Sept. 29.
Of the 75 restaurants and bars in downtown Tempe, 45 have liquor licenses, according to Department of Liquor Licenses and Control records. Licensees can elect to ban firearms on their premises by posting signs complying with standards of the Department of Liquor Licenses and Control.
To some, the mixture of alcohol and firearms is a dangerous combination near the Tempe campus.
“Just look at common sense — mixing guns and alcohol is a bad idea,” ASU Police Cmdr. Jim Hardina said. “I think [the law] is a bad idea, and to me, it sounds counterintuitive.”
Shauna Perkins, a 21-year-old psychology junior, works at The Library Bar and Grill on Mill Avenue. Perkins said The Library does not have a sign on the outside of the restaurant prohibiting firearms, but a security guard told her the bar doesn’t allow concealed weapons. Legally, people can still bring concealed guns into a bar or restaurant if there is no sign that says guns aren’t allowed.
Still, Perkins said the possibility of people carrying guns while getting intoxicated is troubling.
“The fact that people can carry concealed firearms in bars makes me pretty nervous, actually,” Perkins said. “I definitely do not think alcohol and guns make a very smart combination.”
The law requires that those who carry concealed firearms into restaurants have concealed weapons permits from the state of Arizona, and prohibits individuals carrying concealed weapons from consuming alcohol.
But Hardina said it is very difficult to enforce those aspects of the law.
“The only way you’re going to regulate it is after an incident occurs,” he said.
Megan Osuna, a 20-year-old communications sophomore, works at Dave’s Doghouse on University Drive, and said no restaurant that serves alcohol near campus should allow firearms.
“There’s always that possibility that people carrying a concealed weapon will have a few drinks, regardless of the law,” Osuna said. “You never know, a few drinks could alter their judgment, arguments can escalate into fights and they could use that gun and injure themselves or someone else.”
There are 153,765 active concealed weapons permits in Arizona, including 81,099 in Maricopa County, according to Arizona Department of Public Safety records. Of the active permits in the state, nearly 11 percent are issued to men and women in their 20s.
Matthew Pizi, a 21-year-old biogenetics junior, said though he is aware that people in bars and restaurants may have concealed weapons, he’s not very concerned about an incident occurring.
“I think you have to be pretty stupid to bring a gun to a place like Mill [Avenue bars],” Pizi said. “I just hope I don’t give anyone a reason to pull one out.”
Reach the reporter at mhendley@asu.edu
