A bid to allow some Arizona gun owners to bring their weapons into public buildings may be over.
Current law allows the operators of government buildings to declare their facilities to be weapon-free zones by posting signs at entrances and providing storage lockers for guns.
A Senate bill would overrule that, mandating government agencies to buy and install metal detectors and have security guards at all public entrances, allowing the state’s 265,000 concealed-carry permit holders to ignore the signs.
But the vote ended in a tie and failed.
Sen. Debbie Lesko chided colleagues for refusing to go along-- I don't think that the bad guys that want to kill somebody inside are going to be stopped at the door and say, 'Oh, my, there's a little sticker there, I'd better not go in.' No, people with ill intent will go in."
Wednesday's tie vote may not be the last word. Lobbyists are pressuring at least two Republican lawmakers to change their minds, paving the way for a new vote.