Second Amendment Rights Protected During State of Emergency

(STATE CAPITOL, PHOENIX) The State Legislature overwhelmingly passed and the governor signed April 18 SB 1258, sponsored by Sen. Jay Tibshraeny, R-Chandler, preventing the governor from confiscating firearms and ammunition during a state of emergency. "If there is ever a time that our Second Amendment rights are most vital, it is during an emergency," Tibshraeny said. "The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina raised concerns for many of us and I wanted to work with the National Rifle Association to create a bill to make Arizonans feel more empowered during an emergency." In current law, during a state of emergency, the governor has complete authority over all state agencies and may seize and utilize firearms or ammunition. The governor vetoed similar legislation to SB 1258 last year citing concerns about not being able to move warehoused ammunition away from dangerous conditions such as wildfires. Responding to the veto, this year Tibshraeny worked with the NRA and the governor's office to create an amendment that allows the governor in a state of emergency to retain the ability for reasonable movement of stores of ammunition out of the way of dangerous conditions. "It is important that if we are ever in a tragic and dangerous situation, we are not left defenseless, and I am pleased to have reached a compromise that maintained the purpose and intent of the bill, and resulted in legislation the governor signed into law," Tibshraeny said.