Tucson, AZ – New state Sen. Lori Klein brought a special guest to the state Capitol Monday, and it wasn’t Joe the Plumber, the subject of her first news release.
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It was her .38 special, which she carried in her purse.
“I pack,” the Anthem Republican said. “Our safety is our personal responsibility.”
Klein carried the gun with her at the Senate, and then to the House, where the chamber was crammed with 90 lawmakers, their families and friends, the Supreme Court justices, dignitaries from across Arizona and others, all awaiting Gov. Jan Brewer’s State of the State speech, which had a somber, reflective tone in light of the mass shooting in Tucson.
Klein said she didn’t think the events in Tucson should influence her decision to carry a gun, something she’s done for more than 10 years.
“It goes wherever I go,” said Klein. “I got sworn in with it. I didn’t think it was an issue.”
House Speaker Kirk Adams, R-Mesa, said he was unaware that Klein had entered the House floor with a gun, and declined to comment on the matter.
House rules, he said, are silent on the issue of whether members can carry guns on the floor.
Klein, who took the oath of office Monday, said she believes lawmakers aren’t subject to gun restrictions. “We’re exempt, so we can carry,” she said.
Rep. Debbie McCune Davis, who was told by a colleague that Klein had brought her gun into the crowded chamber, said state law says people must check with security before bringing a gun into a government building.
“Is there an exception in the law, or does the Legislature not abide by the law?” McCune Davis, D-Phoenix, asked.
She
noted that on Monday, the Capitol was full of police officers, most of them in uniforms with weapons prominently displayed. Anyone entering the House was scanned with a hand-held wand for metal items.
“There was no reason to think they (lawmakers) lacked protection,” she said.
Klein said she’s been carrying a gun since 2000, when her house was broken into when she had three small boys at home.
I am proud of this woman for openly carrying. That being said, there is no reason to carry on the floor of the legislature. It is taking it too far. Especially if there is a law requiring authorization (which she does not have) to carry in a government building. If she’s not following the laws she has sworn to uphold, then she is just another cheap hypocrite… no matter how much I respect her for openly carrying.
The beginning of the article makes it look like she brought a new guest, the gun, to the Capitaol. It makes it seem that she is carrying the gun because of the Saturday shooting. Then we read that she is carrying a gun since 2000.
So what is the news here? Her having a gun has nothing to do with shooting.
After 10 years she should also have known the capitol rules of carring a gun
In addition, do you really think she is protected carrying her gun in her pocketbook together with her makeup, mirror, tissues, cell phone, money, change, car and home keys, eyeglasse and case, etc.
How long will it take her to find the gun??
They carry here in Texas – civilians can carry into the capitol building, but only authorized persons can carry into the congressional chambers.
To #2 - I read of an abduction of a woman some years ago, which took place in a parking lot, by a shopping center. The abductor overpowered her, and threw her into the trunk of his car. During the subsequent drive, the abductor kept shouting to the terrified passenger, what he was going to do to her, once he stopped the car. Some time later, the abductor stopped the car, and opened the trunk. He received the surprise of his life, when the kidnapped victim opened fire three times, with a pistol, which she carried in her purse. She shot the kidnapper dead. It was later revealed that the kidnapper had an extensive criminal record. This was a true story; there are many females, as well as males who carry guns for personal protection.
Any body remember City Councilman James E. Davis a former police officer who by NY law was allowed to carry a fire arm and was shot and killed by a political rival inside City Hall! Councilman Davis gun remained holstered as he died on the floor of City Hall, he did not have time to pull it out of the holster.
There is also this little nugget of knowledge;
“Keeping a gun in the home carries a murder risk 2.7 times greater than not keeping one, according to a study by Arthur Kellermann, Emory University. The study found that people are 21 times more likely to be killed by someone they know than a stranger breaking into the house. Half of the murders were over arguments or romantic triangles. The study also found that the increased murder rate in gun-owning households was entirely due to an increase in gun homicides only, not any other murder method. It further found that gun-owning households saw an increased murder risk by family or intimate acquaintances, not by strangers or non-intimate acquaintances.”
http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-kellermann.htm
Carry a gun may make you FEEL safer, but not necessary make you safer. Nuff said!
To #5 - In my community, there have been a number of instances, where homeowners have legally shot and killed burglars and home invaders who broke into their homes, while the homeowner, and his/her family were in the home. If those same homeowners had listened to you (and not carried a gun for protection in their home), they would have been dead.
Dear #6 & # 7
Thank you for reading my comment, in response.
#6 Can you please clarify what you mean by “Crime is plummeting, bec good citizens are arming themselves, now that the S.C. made their gun bans unconstitutional. The 2.7 x’s increase is bed that was only taken in metro areas where most gun possessors are demons, not law abiding licensed gun owners. And the number of armed citizens who do get killed would be lower if one didn’t have to keep their gun in 3 pieces!” I am not sure I follow you.
Also crime is down in NYC and we have some of the strictest gun laws in the country please explain?
#7 Your comment makes the assumention that the people in the house would have been killed by the burglar, you don’t even know if the burglar was armed or if the home owner could have protected themselves as adequately with a base ball bat. Further more your report in anecdotal and does not take away from the fact that a person is more likely to kill a family member with a hand gun than a stranger.
Last point many hand guns used in big cityies with harsh gun laws a bought in states with lax gun laws often in a “legal manner.” Feel free to respond.
Wishing you a good day!
To #7 -Anon- Since you invited me to respond, I am going to do so. I can’t believe how naive you are. Do you really think that if one confronts a burglar in their home, that the burglar is going to run out the door? On the contrary, many burglars are on drugs, and will become violoent when they encounter people in a residence. Look at what occurred in 2007 in Connecticut, when two paroled burglars broke into the residence of a Doctor. They smashed the Doctor over the head, tortured and sexually assaulted his wife and daughter, then strangled his wife, and set fire to his house, killing his two daughters. Do you really think that I am going to ask a burglar if he is armed or try to use a baseball bat which he could take away, and use against me? I repeat, burglars break into your home, you are under no legal obligation to ascertain if they are armed. You are within your legal right in every state to shoot burglars dead. There is no jury in the USA, which will convict a homeowner who uses deadly force to protect himself and his family, against a burglary, or a home invader. The statistics which you quoted look good on paper, but are not practical in the real world.