As the new school year begins on Valley campuses, Gov. Doug Ducey has renewed his call to have judges remove guns from people believed to be a danger to themselves or others.
He took a political risk last year by proposing a gun safety plan, especially on school campuses. After several concessions, the Senate approved it and the National Rifle Association backed off.
Looking back, he told Capitol Media Services that his plan increased funding for school safety and had wide support from educators, law enforcement and the courts.
"All of the discussions were very reasonable,” Ducey said. “We didn't have one person in any of those settings say 'You need to grab everybody's gun' or 'you need to arm every teacher.' And then, we brought in the Legislature, and politics intervened."
Last session, Arizona’s GOP House of Representatives rejected Ducey’s plan at a time when legislatures nationwide faced pressure to pass gun laws following the mass shooting at a Florida high school.
“When I hear someone in Florida say that there was nothing that we could do for someone who had been visited by law enforcement or social services 39 times,” Ducey said, “who had posted on YouTube that they wanted to be known as a school shooter, I reject that as bad policy.”
Lawmakers and gun advocates took issue specifically with the Severe Threat Order portion forcing mental health evaluations and detainment for up to two weeks if a judge deems someone dangerous to himself, herself or the community.
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