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Valley Doctor Will Not Face Criminal Charges For Walking Around Sky Harbor With Gun

The gun rights advocate who walked around Sky Harbor Airport this summer with a semi-automatic rifle over his shoulder will not face criminal charges. Peter Steinmetz was arrested after a family in the airport said the gun was pointing in their direction.

Steinmetz has agreed to a deal with the Maricopa County Attorney's Office that includes an NRA training and a two-year ban on openly carrying weapons into major Phoenix-area airports.

"He’s fortunate stupidity is not a crime, because that would have been another charge," said Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery. "In terms of him thinking that his conduct somehow was a successful exercise of 2nd amendment rights, I will underscore that for every right there is a responsibility."

Montgomery said Steinmetz did nothing to help promote responsible gun ownership.

Jude Joffe-Block was a senior field correspondent at KJZZ from 2010 to 2017.