Arizonans for Gun Safety along with the Neighborhood Activists Interlinked Empowerment Movement (NAILEM), strongly opposes the proposal to change Arizona’s current law and allow people to carry guns into bars and restaurants (S1363).

Common sense tells us alcohol and guns do not mix. This legislation is bad policy and puts the public’s health and safety at risk. A similar bill was defeated in last year’s legislative session because the community did not support it. Once again, a minority of gun owners and the gun lobby are trying to force the measure on the public.

Prohibiting people from carrying guns into bars and other liquor establishments prevents the possibility of death or injury. Prevention is the key. Research on alcohol-related assaults identifies bars as the most common location for alcohol-related violence. Alcohol impairs judgment; do we really want guns in an environment where a simple brawl can end in a serious injury or death if a gun is readily available? A review of newspaper and media reports indicates there have been a number of incidents specifically involving guns and alcohol use in the past several years:

November 2001: A concealed weapons permit holder injures 3 people when he discharges his handgun in a tavern. — Philadelphia Inquirer 11/28/01

January 2002: A permit holder’s gun unintentionally discharges in a restaurant, injuring a patron. — Indianapolis Star 2/15/02

March 2003 – Senate Majority Leader Bart Davies’s son, a Boise State University student, is shot and killed at a party by a 21-year-old drunk. —The Idaho Statesman 3/18/03

If Arizona legislators believe guns are not a health and safety issue, they are dead wrong. According to a report by trauma administration of St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, more than 4,300 Arizona residents died as a result of firearm misuse between 1998 and 2002. An additional 2,705 residents were severely injured by gunshot wounds. An astounding 29 children, under the age of 18, died from gunshot injuries in 2003 alone, according to the Arizona Child Fatality Review Board. These are not small numbers.

Arizonans for Gun Safety and NAILEM represent more than 40,000 members statewide. We stand with a broad-based coalition of groups that oppose the carrying of guns in bars and restaurants. This includes police organizations, community groups, liquor distributors and restaurant owners. Police groups are particularly concerned about the impact of the measure on public safety and on their own resources.

Bar and restaurant owners do not want any part of the liability and potential danger of dealing with armed customers. Community groups do not want to increase the risk of violence in their neighborhoods.

The gun lobby is pushing the Legislature to adopt extreme measures like allowing guns in bars and restaurants. However, most states have rejected “extremist” proposals like this – and Arizona should too. Ohio, Virginia, Georgia and Tennessee have rejected legislative proposals to allow guns in restaurants. Twenty-five states already regulate or prohibit the carrying of guns into liquor establishments.

All public surveys in the last decade show that the public, including gun owners, do not support extreme gun policies. In 1999, a Harvard Injury Control Research Center national survey asked, ”Do you think regular citizens should be allowed to bring their guns into restaurants and bars?” The overwhelming majority of Americans – generally more than 90 per cent of respondents – gave a resounding “no.” A 2001 poll by the National Opinion Research Center obtained similar results.

Allowing guns into bars and restaurants increases the risk to our health and safety.

Legislators should listen to the concerns of the entire community and vote against this measure. Guns and alcohol do not mix. It is only common sense. —

—-Hildy Saizow, president, Arizonans for Gun Safety

—Donna Neill, director, NAILEM