PHOENIX, Arizona (PNN) - December 19, 2012 - A group that advocates for pro-gun, state legislation said Wednesday guns should be allowed in Arizona public schools to provide protection against shootings such as the one in Connecticut.
Amid public debate over what to do in response to the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, the league is "now looking at things that can be done to heighten security in schools," spokesman Charles Heller said during an earlier interview. "We hadn't been before."
Arizona law now generally bans taking guns on school grounds.
A teachers union leader said everybody wants to protect students but allowing school personnel to have guns on campuses would pose safety and security threats, partly by opening the door to unintended consequences. Gun control proposals went nowhere in the Republican-led Arizona Legislature after the January 2011 shooting that wounded then-Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson.
Arizona has permissive gun laws and a Wild West heritage. Guns can be carried openly, sometimes jolting newcomers, particularly in urban areas.
On Monday, Brewer sounded disinclined to weaken the right to bear arms in response to the Connecticut shooting.
Alan Korwin, a Scottsdale author and publisher of books on gun laws, said the media is whipping public sentiment into a "mob mentality" in favor of new gun restrictions after the Connecticut shootings.
Gun-free zones "enable criminals and infringe on the rights and abilities of Americans to protect themselves and their children," Korwin said. "We trust teachers with our children. Certainly they should be qualified" to have guns at schools.
