AZ-Campus-gun bill advances despite police opposition

A proposal to allow faculty members to carry heat on college campuses has the gun lobby and police drawing down on each other, with each predicting dire consequences.
Sen. Jack Harper's controversial bill would allow any faculty member at a public college or university with a concealed-weapons permit to carry a gun on campus.

Harper, R-Surprise, said his striker on Senate Bill 1014 would deter a gunman from opening fire on an Arizona campus, knowing that some faculty members are armed and would save lives.
But Arizona State University Police Chief John Pickens and Yavapai College Police Chief Joe Cappelli testified before the House Military Affairs Committee on Wednesday that Harper's idea is a bad one that might cost lives, not save them.
Despite police opposition, the committee voted 5-2 to approve the bill, giving a new life to an identical proposal that died in the Senate earlier this session.
Cappelli said everyday residents with concealed-weapons permits have far less training than police officers and are apt to fire wildly when confronted with the stress of a campus shooting.
An instructor at the Northern Arizona Police Academy, Cappelli said that even police hit their targets only about 25 percent of the time during officer-involved shootings.
"I have issues with the level of training. I'm not sure with all the hustle and bustle that we can discern an active shooter from a faculty member," Cappelli said.
But Dave Kopp, president of the Arizona Citizens Defense League, said people seeking concealed-weapons permits are trained only to stop the threat posed by a gunman.
He said even a fast police response time could be too slow.
"In that 30 seconds, you can have a lot of carnage," Kopp said.
The bill now goes to the House Committee of the Whole for a vote. The entire House would then vote on the bill before it returns to the Senate.
Earlier this session, Harper proposed the same measure as Senate Bill 1011, but it died after it was held in the Senate Public Safety and Human Services Committee.
Harper gave the measure a second chance by tacking it on to an otherwise routine bill that would have expanded assistance to the Military Family Relief Fund.
Chairman Jerry Weiers, R-Phoenix, said having faculty carry guns is no different than allowing airline pilots to arm themselves after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
He said there have been no dire consequences from pilots packing and no major fallout from the concealed-weapons law, either.
"I don't know if I could live with myself and vote against this bill, and then something like Columbine happens on one of our college campuses," Weiers said.
But Rep. Daniel Patterson, D-Tucson, who said he normally supports the individual's right to bear arms, voted against the bill after noting the police opposition.


http://www.azcentral.com/news/elect...03/18/20100318arizona-guns-on-campus0318.html

 

Cappelli's argument makes sense, but I still think it will do more good having faculty packing heat. people would be less likely to go on a shooting spree knowing that others will be armed.

 

yeah, does anyone remember what happened at VaTech? If any one of those 5 faculty members had been armed, there would have been alot less deaths.

 

Great post Chris!

 

I agree.

And good post chris. It's kinda funny how your average gun owner hits hit target more than the COPS!