By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services
Arizonans who want to possess everything from pipe bombs to hand grenades will have to instead settle for automatic weapons, sawed-off shotguns and silencers.
Rep. Alexander Kolodin argued Feb. 12 to the House Judiciary Committee that there’s no reason for the state to use its powers to limit the ability of Arizonans to defend themselves. And that, the Scottsdale Republican said, includes not just traditional firearms but even what he called “weapons of war.”
Kolodin said he was under no illusion that if legislators adopted his HCR 2037 and voters approved that Arizonans would suddenly be able to have rockets, Molotov cocktails or improvised explosive devices, all considered felonies under Arizona law. Repealed or not, those would remain illegal under federal law.
He said, though, that the state is under no obligation to help the feds enforce those laws by having parallel laws of its own. In fact, Kolodin pointed out, the Arizona Constitution has even broader protections on the right to bear arms than the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
