What Democratic majorities would look like in the Arizona legislature: Gun control

(The Center Square) – Increased gun regulation is something that Arizona Democrats have long been fighting for, only to be shut down by Republican legislators. With a chance of winning the majority in November, policymakers are brainstorming gun control bills they would like to see on Gov. Katie Hobbs’ desk.

Only two seats away from having a Democratic majority in Arizona’s legislative chambers for the first time in six decades, the Democratic Caucus has established a plan they say would allow them to hit the ground running in 2025 should they take control of the Legislature. This story is part of a series of what a Democratic trifecta would look like for Arizona taxpayers.

“In the event that we flip, we want to be ready to govern,” Sen. Christine Marsh, D-Phoenix, told The Center Square.

A Democratic trifecta, however, would not be enough to change any of the protections listed in Article 26 of the Arizona Constitution, which goes further than the 2nd Amendment in its explicit protection to own firearms.

Safe gun storage

Arizona resident Bruce Petillo had just texted his 15-year-old son goodnight, when he received a call 20 minutes later that his son had been shot in the chest at a friend’s house.

“Our son Christian spent the night at a friend’s house September 5, 2021 and never came home,” Petillo told The Center Square. “There was an unsecured gun in the home, the friend brought it out and it went off and Christian was killed.”

In the months following that fateful day, Bruce and his wife Claire Petillo, worked with former Rep. Jennifer Longdon to create “Christian’s Law.”

Christian’s Law is a bill that would require the safe storage of firearms and ammunition in homes or equipping the firearm with a safety feature, making it impossible to fire without being disabled, with a civil penalty of at least $1,000 for those who violate the law. The bill has yet to make it to committee.

“Christian’s bill has sat in the basket for two years now, waiting to be pulled out by the judicial committee,” Claire said.

The Petillos have spoken at the Arizona Capitol and met with numerous policy-makers to try and get support for Christian’s Law. They are hopeful with the possibility of a Democratic majority, 2025 might be the year this law gets passed.

“Gov. Hobbs has… said specifically that if Christian’s Law comes across her desk, she would be happy to sign it, so I am hopeful this season,” Claire said.

Sen. Flavio Bravo, D-Phoenix, will be taking the point on gun regulation legislation this upcoming year.

Bravo said that he may rethink Christian’s Law using incentives instead of punishment. Instead of fining those who break the law, he would want to incentivise them with a tax credit when they purchase safe storage items for guns.

“If you actually buy safe storage that’s been certified with the state, you can receive a state tax credit so you’re not feeling that cost economically,” Bravo said. “I think people respond positively to incentives. I would really be compelled to try something like that.”

Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, said that he thinks these kinds of measures could impact an individual’s ability to protect themselves.

“They [Democrats] may attempt to implement mandatory safety features on guns which could reduce their utility on self defense,” Kavanagh said. “I think everybody everywhere has the right to defend themselves.”

The U.S. Supreme Court agrees. In Washington D.C. v. Heller, justices questioned how a District of Columbia law keeping a gun unloaded and under lock and key negatively impacted a citizen’s right to defend their home. The D.C. law did not limit itself to an incentive as Bravo proposes.

A similar federal proposal called “Ethan’s Law,” named after a Connecticut child killed in a firearms accident, has not been successful in multiple sessions of Congress. 

Guns in schools

Bravo said that one of his district’s major concerns is the presence of guns on school campuses. According to him, he said that he has been called multiple times by school superintendents telling him that a student was found in possession of a gun on school grounds.

“We have had a series of events where we’ve barely avoided tragedies on our high school campuses,” Bravo said, recounting a time when an AR-15 rifle was confiscated from a student’s backpack. “If you think about it, they’re really moments away from an immense tragedy.”

Bravo said that he is not sure at this time what the best way to address this issue would be, but that there needs to be increased coordination between school districts, counties and the governor.

“I’m open to any considerations when it comes to what sorts of policy would be effective,” Bravo said.

While gun control advocates point to gun violence incidents at public schools nationally, the most recent in Arizona was in 2016, when two teenage girls were found dead with a handgun and suicide note at a Glendale High School.

Bravo said that Arizona has been “fortunate” to not have seen many school shootings in recent years, but that preventative measures should still be a priority.

Kavanagh said that increased gun regulation is not the answer to the rise in school shootings.

“You need to have people in the school armed, who can stop the shooting quickly,” Kavanagh said. “Unless you have armed police officers, armed security or trained teachers with access to guns, you are not going to stop people from killing kids and that’s just the reality.”

Kavanagh, a former police officer, sponsored legislation to allow concealed permit holders to carry guns into most public buildings. 

Domestic violence offenders

A bill formerly proposed by Longdon that was held in committee is set to be rerun by the Democrats – HB 2234. This bill would add a domestic violence offender to the list of those prohibited from owning a firearm.

Bravo said that they are looking to follow the lead of the Supreme Court case United States v. Rahimi which upheld a federal law that bars anyone subject to a domestic violence restraining order from possessing a gun.

“If there was any legislation we would consider immediately, it would be that one because it’s common sense [and] it’s sorely needed,” Bravo said.

Kavanagh said that this type of gun regulation may be too broad and taking a step too far.

“Blanket descriptions like that are problematic,” saying that some forms of domestic violence are not as serious as others and may not warrant such a restriction. Additionally, he said that sometimes one party in a domestic violence situation will take the blame when the other is at fault if the assaulter receives the primary household income.

“I don’t have a problem banning mentally ill people or criminals from owning guns, but law-abiding citizens should not have restrictions,” Kavanagh said.

Others have said “red-flag laws” similar to this could be used in a punitive manner. 

Educational pamphlets

A bill previously proposed by Sen. Mitzi Epstein is also on the Democratic Caucus’ agenda. This bill would allow pediatricians and other healthcare providers to educate parents on how to safely store guns. The pamphlet would be created by the Department of Health to be put in medical offices.

“The legislature finds that in the United States the leading cause of death among children and adolescents is unintentional injury, that firearms are a leading cause of those injuries and that over half of those children and adolescents killed by firearms are killed in their own home,” reads SB 1512. “The legislature further finds it necessary to educate parents about the unintended deadly consequences of having a gun in their home that could be accessible to children and adolescents.”

Additionally, Longdon had formerly proposed a mirrored bill that is included in the Democrats’ 2025 plan – HB 2225. This bill would appropriate $250,000 from the state general fund to the Department of Health Services to create the pamphlet.

Kavanagh said that he does not think it is the responsibility of pediatricians and healthcare providers to educate parents on gun safety.

“That’s not the business of doctors,” Kavanagh said. “Where would it end? Let’s have every doctor spend 40 hours with every patient and go through an entire litany of safety measures.”

Bravo said that he supports giving medical professionals the ability to educate parents, but that he would not support using taxpayer money to create the pamphlets.

“It will take at least two or three more legislative sessions to fix the budget deficit that we were in,” Bravo said. “I don’t think I would support anything like that if we are in a deficit.”