Governor Doug Ducey said his push for new school safety legislation will include a focus on gun sale background checks, but he appeared opposed to closing a loophole that allows private sales at gun shows and in person without such a check.
The Republican governor told reporters Monday that he is still gathering information on how to boost school safety and preparing a formal proposal.
“We’re talking with parents, we’re talking with students, we’re talking with superintendents, mental health experts, law enforcement officers and prosecutors,” Ducey said.
The comments came on Monday, the same day that student activists and Democratic Arizona lawmakers called on the governor and the GOP-controlled legislature to act on stalled legislation designed to curb gun violence.
Ducey believes recent legislation barring state and local governments from requiring checks on private transactions may tie his hands on gun show sales.
Lawrence Robinson with the Arizona School Boards Association said state leaders continue underfunding schools while not adequately protecting children.
“Two weeks after the incidents in Florida, two weeks later, we had 17 instances where a deadly weapon was carried on to a campus here in Arizona,” Robinson said at the rally outside the Capitol.