By Howard Fischer
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/knau/local-knau-511129.mp3
Phoenix, AZ – Current law says weapons are not allowed anywhere beer,
wine or liquor is served. Sen. Ron Gould said that
means someone licensed to carry a concealed weapon who
wants to get a bite at a place like an Olive Garden has
to leave the gun in the car and be vulnerable to
thieves in the parking lot. He said that's what
happened in California, where people can't even carry
concealed weapons at all, where a man was accosted by
someone with a gun and shot, even after giving up his
wallet.
(Had this man had the ability to carry a concealed
weapon into that restaurant, or his wife did, that man
might be alive today. And, folks, if we stand in
between people protecting their life and limb we're not
doing the citizens of Arizona correctly.)
But Sen. Carolyn Allen said she knows from personal
experience that making guns available where alcohol is
served is a bad idea. She said her former husband was
an alcoholic who loved to brawl and picked fights.
(And if this man had access to a gun in a public bar or
a restaurant it would have been very, very dangerous.
And there are plenty of other people like that out in
the world.)
If the measure survives a final vote it faces an
uncertain future. Governor Janet Napolitano vetoed
similar legislation last year. In Phoenix, for Arizona
Public Radio this is Howard Fischer.