Gov. Jan Brewer said today she will not support any new restrictions on guns even in the wake of high profile shootings.
The governor's comments come not only weeks after the killings at Sandy Hook school but exactly two years after a gunman killed six in Tucson and wounded Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. That has led to calls for new gun laws. But Brewer said that's the wrong response.
"I think that now, in light of some of the tragedies that have taken place that people are concerned," the Governor said. "I am not a proponent of gun control. I'm a proponent of safe areas and certainly safe schools."
Brewer has not always aligned herself with the National Rifle Association, vetoing legislation to allow guns onto college campuses and into public buildings without metal detectors. But she sidestepped a question about comments by Giffords, in forming Americans for Responsible Solutions to counter the NRA, that that organization exerts too much influence and is -- quote -- advancing the interests of an ideological fringe.
"I think that the NRA represents a huge number of people that believe in the Second Amendment," Brewer said. "I think we all can agree that we need to assure that our schools are safe and that public areas are safe. But that doesn't necessarily mean that it's gun control. It means that we have to come up with solutions."
But the governor provided no specifics on what she would do.