By Tatum Smith and Nicole Gimpl | Cronkite New
This week’s deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida, put the national debate about gun control back into the spotlight. But at least one Arizona lawmaker remained skeptical much would change in Arizona.
“I don’t think there’s much appetite for addressing that given our current state Legislature, but I think common sense gun safety reform is something that the vast majority of Arizonans support,” said state Sen. Sean Bowie, D-Phoenix.
The state’s conservative Legislature has not supported gun-control measures in previous sessions.
Robert W. Runcie, superintendent of the Broward County Public Schools, told the news media: “Now is the time for the country to have a real conversation on sensible gun controls in this country,” an article in The New York Times stated.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey took to social media to express his condolences. The Arizona State Capitol flags were lowered to half-staff Thursday in honor of the 17 people killed and 14 injured.
The recent Florida shooting was the second deadliest mass shooting at a school since 20 children and six adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut in 2012. According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been 345 mass shootings in the U.S. since 2013.
Others talked about the need for tougher gun laws. Talk show host Ellen Degeneres tweeted “no laws are enough until we end this epidemic.” And “#GUNREFORMNOW” was trending Thursday on Twitter.
But gun-control advocates in Arizona face a tough road. The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence gave Arizona an “F” in its 2016 gun law state scorecard, saying the state has “little in the way of common sense gun policy.”
Legislators have introduced several bills this session that would place bans or preventative measures on the sale, distribution, accessibility and storage of firearms.
Here’s a look at some of them:
