PHOENIX — Gov. Doug Ducey said Tuesday he has no clear idea of how to prevent mass shootings at schools. But the governor said he does believe in two things: Protect the Second Amendment and don’t “politicize” the massacre at the Florida high school.
Speaking to reporters a week after the gunman killed 17, Ducey said he could provide no guidance on what changes in laws are necessary to prevent similar shootings here.
“These are issues that are going to require more than one governor, one state to participate,” the governor said when asked about the lack of any formal policy from his administration to deal with gun violence. “I think you’re going to have to have law enforcement, education, school leaders around a table, discussing about, one, how these things happen, what the consistencies were, and what changes in law or policy would have avoided them, or would have stopped them.”
That’s precisely what 50 of the state’s 90 lawmakers are asking from Ducey.
In a letter sent Monday, the legislators — mostly Democrats but some Republicans — called on the governor “to act quickly, decisively and compassionately” to protect Arizona schoolchildren by convening a task force on preventing school violence.
The signers suggested the panel should include parents, teachers, school administrators, counselors, law enforcement and behavioral health professionals and be charged with finding way to identify students “at risk of inflicting violence upon others and protocols for interventions to safeguard our children.”
Ducey said Wednesday he had not yet seen the letter.
“I’ll be in contact with legislative leadership and we’ll be talking about what next steps can happen,” the governor said.
Ducey’s promise Tuesday to work with all parties to deal with the problem is hardly new.
In 2014, when he was running for governor, the Arizona Republic asked candidates what they would do to prevent future gun violence. At the time he promised to work with mental health experts, the firearms community and law enforcement “to make sure that any programs brought forward will reduce violence and not infringe on the Constitution.”
On Tuesday, the governor sidestepped questions about the fact that, to date, the only consistency in his actions has been to sign measures to loosen state regulations of guns.
For example, he signed legislation allowing firearms on public rights of way through campuses. He also penned his signature to one law requiring cities to sell off guns used in crimes or surrendered rather than allowing them to be destroyed.
And Ducey gave his blessing to yet another that forbids the state from telling people they can only purchase “smart” guns, which can be tracked but also can be programmed to fire only if held by the owner.
In each of those situations — and again Tuesday — Ducey said while he wants to protect public safety he also wants to ensure that Arizona does not impinge on the right of people to bear arms.
