Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich says the city of Tucson may be violating state law by destroying guns that were turned in or confiscated by the police department.
However, in his 11-page response to a complaint filed by state Rep. Mark Finchem, Brnovich did not indicate whether he will pursue legal action to force the city to stop turning most guns taken in by police into scrap metal.
The city contends destroying the firearms is lawful because the disposition of municipal property is a “local concern.”
“The Ordinance, which requires the Tucson Police Department to destroy forfeited firearms, conflicts with state law. The Office recognizes, however, that while the prior case law is most likely distinguishable, there is a question as to whether this matter is of purely local concern and thus the Ordinance might not violate state law,” Brnovich concluded in his report, issued Monday. “The Office therefore concludes ... that the Ordinance may violate state law.”
He said there is statewide interest in preserving the right to bear arms, regulating firearms to preserve public safety, regulating police departments and ensuring that cities do not waste “resources that could generate revenue.”
That, Brnovich wrote, makes the destruction of firearms “distinguishable from the disposition of municipal real property, which courts have treated as being purely of local concern.”
Finchem, an Oro Valley Republican, filed the complaint last month, stating Tucson is violating a 2013 Arizona law that requires the sale of otherwise legal guns obtained by law enforcement agencies.
Finchem filed his complaint under a controversial new law, SB 1487, which says local governments that violate state laws lose their state-shared revenue if they don’t stop. Tucson received $172 million from the state last year.
TPD has destroyed 4,820 guns since the beginning of 2013, city records show.
City Attorney Mike Rankin said the city will have to wait and see whether Brnovich pursues legal action against the city. “Their answer is ‘We’re not sure (whether it is legal),’” Rankin said Monday night.
Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild is more certain legal action against the city will occur related to SB 1487.
Rothschild said new law challenges the city’s sovereign status.
“The city’s position is that SB 1487 is unconstitutional,” he said.
Councilman Steve Ko- zachik said Brnovich has sidestepped the underlying issue in his response.
“He absolutely punted the fundamental questions put before him,” Kozachik said. He added the decision was more political than legal.
Kozachik noted that if the city is forced to answer the complaint at the Arizona Supreme Court, it is required to post a multi-million dollar bond just to fight the yet-untested state law.
