Following the Georgia school shooting in which a 14-year-old allegedly killed four people and injured nine at Apalachee High School, Arizona Democratic lawmakers are calling for gun policy reforms in the next state legislative session.
Sen. Flavio Bravo, D-Phoenix, said in a statement that legislation regarding storage parameters for households with minors, “allow pediatricians to talk about gun safety” with youth, and a proposal to “remove guns from those convicted of domestic violence.”
The United States “is the only country that allows parents to continuously send their children to school worried about whether or not their child will come home alive due to gun violence,” Bravo said. “It is the only country that forces its students, teachers and school staff to go through active shooter training instead of passing commonsense gun safety laws that would protect them.”
“It doesn’t have to be this way, and it is outrageous that we continue to do nothing to protect our schools. The Arizona Senate Democratic Caucus is ready today to put an end to tragedies like this and make sure Arizona never has to endure a tragedy like this,” he added.
However, Democrats will likely need a majority in the legislature in order to get their proposals to Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs’ desk. The legislature currently has a narrow Republican majority, and both parties are vying for control of the chamber in the 2024 general election. If Democrats were to win the majority in both chambers, it could make their gun safety reform and other proposals get through much either with the governor’s signature, The Center Square previously reported.
On the flip side, many Republicans and conservative groups have pitched heightened security at schools as a solution to ending school shootings. Last month, Rep. John Gillette, R-Kingman, said that more safety education is crucial when it comes to guns.
“I sponsored a bill with Selina Bliss to bring weapons training back into the schools,” Gillette said. “When I went to school, we had a rifle team. We brought our rifles to school, we brought our shotguns to school during deer and dove season. Once we stopped teaching our kids the positive and what can be negative effects of firing a gun, we started having all these problems,” he told The Center Square.
As for the suspect in the Georgia case, he and his father, who’s also facing charges, were in court on Friday, according to The Washington Post.
