Bill To Ban Gun Confiscations On AZ Governor's Desk -- Please contact Napolitano immediately!

Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151 Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408 http://www.gunowners.org

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Note: While the timing is unfortunate given the Virginia Tech shootings, this is an important alert requiring the attention of Arizona gun owners, because a hard deadline exists.

Legislation banning the confiscation of firearms and ammunition has overwhelmingly passed both chambers of the state legislature in Phoenix, and Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) has until Sunday to sign or veto it.

SB 1258 -- introduced by state Senator Jay Tibshraeny (R-Dist. 21) -- passed by a unanimous vote in the House (55-0) and a crushing vote in the Senate (22-8).

SB 1258 is an extremely valuable piece of legislation. The nation saw egregious examples of anti-gun misbehavior by the New Orleans police during the "state of emergency" there in 2005. This bill will insure the same thing doesn't happen in The Grand Canyon State.

Because Gov. Janet Napolitano vetoed similar legislation last year, the legislature added an amendment which addresses her concerns. Previously, Napolitano said this legislation would prevent officials from moving warehoused ammunition out of the way of wildfires. Hence, SB 1258 allows the governor to order the "reasonable movement of stores of ammunition out of the way of dangerous conditions" such as wildfires.

Could this language be abused? Possibly. But the bill definitely takes a step forward in that it strengthens the current emergency powers which, at present, would allow officials to confiscate ANY property they want during an emergency.

That is why SB 1258 is so significant. The bill tells a governor and his officials that they can NOT "commandeer and utilize... firearms or ammunition or firearms or ammunition components."

Further, the administration is PROHIBITED from imposing "additional restrictions on the lawful possession, transfer, sale, transportation, carrying, storage, display or use of firearms or ammunition or firearms or ammunition components."

ACTION:

1. It is important that you contact Gov. Janet Napolitano and ask her to sign SB 1258 into law. Because she vetoed similar legislation last year, she might be inclined to do so again. You can use the pre-written letter below to help direct your comments to her at:

Phone: 602-542-4331 Fax: 602-542-1381 E-mail: fill in the web form at http://azgovernor.gov/Contact.asp

2. Please circulate this alert and ask your friends and family to take action as well!

----- Pre-written letter -----

Dear Gov. Napolitano:

Now that SB 1258 has passed the legislature, I urge you to sign it into law. This bill would change state law to prohibit the confiscation of firearms and ammunition during a state of emergency, and would outlaw police misbehavior such as the outrageous conduct in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, which was soundly rebuked by the courts.

You had previously stated that you were worried about being able to move stores of ammunition out of the way of wildfires. You will note that the legislation has been amended to address your concerns.

Unlike some parts of the country, we in Arizona value the right to keep and bear arms. Please reinforce this right by signing SB 1258.

Sincerely,

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