Arizonans are reasonable and logical people. This is no revelation to us, but to the rest of the country it may be. We can attribute this, in part, to the fact that much of the ill-conceived legislation coming out of Arizona’s Legislature is neither reasonable nor logical.
From not funding organ transplants for those the on state Medicaid to severely cutting educational institutions’ budgets, distasteful legislative decisions do not reflect well upon the state’s image.
Rep. Jack Harper, R-Surprise, is heading the effort to pass a bill that would allow college faculty members to carry concealed weapons on school grounds. Harper’s legislation, House Bill 2001, which was filed before the Tucson tragedy, would have gone unnoticed under different circumstances. Harper now hails the bill as a remedy if another shooting should occur.
Harper rationalizes the bill, telling The Arizona Republic, “I think it's clear that . . . there needs to be more responsible, law-abiding individuals that can protect themselves on college campuses."
Clearly, after the Arizona tragedy, the concept of who exactly are “law-abiding individuals” is skewed. Jared Loughner apparently abided by the law enough to be able to legally carry his gun, even with previous run-ins with law enforcement and erratic behavior at Pima Community College.
But Harper is not satisfied with only allowing professors to tote around guns. The representative is proposing House Bill 2014, which would condone students doing the same.
Both faculty and students would need concealed weapons permits before they could bring guns on campus. But in Arizona, getting these permits is a mundane task.
Arizona scores two out of 100 on the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence’s state scorecard.
The most disturbing feature of both bills is the premise behind them, namely that adding guns to a violent scene can save lives.
New York Times columnist Bob Herbert cites a study that runs counter to this premise. He explains that the “University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine estimated that people in possession of a gun at the time of an assault were 4.5 times more likely to be shot during the assault than someone in a comparable situation without a gun.”
One has to look no further than the recent tragedy in Tucson to understand the potential for a proliferation of casualties if more guns are at a violent scene.
According to MSNBC, Joe Zamudio was standing by at the Tucson Safeway when the gunman began his assault. Zamudio was prepared to fire on a man he saw holding a gun with his own firearm when he approached the crime scene.
Luckily, Zamudio withheld his fire. He soon found out that the man was actually a hero of the day, having wrestled away the shooter’s weapon.
Guns should not be treated as accessories that can be carried in briefcases or backpacks. Students and faculty members are in school to learn and educate, and few are studying the art of self-defense.
Luckily, the same bill failed last February. For our collective safety, here’s to hoping it does again this time around.
Contact Zach at zlevinep@asu.edu
?
