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April 19, 2023By Kate Scanlon, OSV News
(OSV News) -- Arizona's Catholic bishops praised the state's Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs for vetoing legislation on gun regulations they called "problematic."
Hobbs vetoed two bills April 17 that were approved by the state's Legislature. SB 1331 would have allowed parents with a concealed weapons permit to bring their guns onto a school campus, and would have required schools to host firearms safety training for students in grades six through 12. That bill would have allowed parents to opt out of having their children attend such training.
"Mandatory firearm safety training in schools is not the solution to gun violence prevention," Hobbs said in a letter accompanying her veto.
"This requirement could lead to immediate and long-term impacts on the health and wellbeing of students, teachers and parents," she said. "Nor is it prudent to allow parents to carry concealed weapons on school campuses. Allowing more guns on campus will not make a campus safer. Firearms on campus have the potential to confuse law enforcement as they arrive at an active shooter situation."
Hobbs said she will "continue fighting for public safety measures that protect our schools and Arizona families from senseless acts of gun violence."
The other bill vetoed by Hobbs, SB 1109, purported to lift a state prohibition on "silencers," devices attached to a gun's muzzle to reduce the intensity of the gunshot sound.
The bishops of the Arizona Catholic Conference, Phoenix Bishop John P. Dolan and Phoenix Auxiliary Bishop Eduardo A. Nevares, Tucson Bishop Edward J. Weisenburger, and Bishop James S. Wall of Gallup, New Mexico (whose diocese includes part of Arizona), said in a joint statement they are "grateful that Governor Katie Hobbs has recently vetoed problematic legislation relating to gun violence."
"We are living in a culture where acts of violence are becoming increasingly common," they said. "Much is needed to be done in order to change this culture where the importance of human life is too often diminished and mental health issues are not sufficiently addressed."
"These proposals are not solutions to the root causes of gun violence which, unfortunately, continue to grow rapidly in our society," the bishops said.
In a statement about the firearms legislation prior to Hobbs' veto, state House Speaker Ben Toma, R-Phoenix, argued the bill would protect students "by requiring schools to provide grade 6-12 students with age appropriate firearms safety and accident prevention training."
Toma's statement did not mention the Legislature's attempt to overturn the state's ban on silencers, which GOP lawmakers previously argued was for the sake of gun owners' hearing. Opponents of the law Hobbs vetoed had argued legalizing silencers would reduce people's ability to hear and react to a mass shooter situation, reducing their opportunities for survival.