Arizona Gov. Ducey set to share ‘aggressive’ school safety plan
Mar 19, 2018, 7:53 AM
(AP Photo)
PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey was expected Monday to announce a plan that would improve school safety, including addressing some gun-sale background check loopholes.
Ducey announced several days ago that he and his staff were working on an “aggressive plan” to protect schools after a series of meetings with students, parents, teachers, mental health experts, law enforcement and lawmakers.
The proposal and meetings were prompted by the Feb. 14 school shooting in Florida, where a gunman with a semiautomatic rifle killed 17.
The Republican governor laid out some of the ideas for change in a number of tweets Thursday.
In one, he pointed out the need for laws that would keep obviously dangerous individuals from being able to get a weapon. In another he suggested there be a central tip line to report and investigate school safety concerns.
Ducey’s plan to tighten background check loopholes wasn’t going to stop private sales that proceed without the normal federal background check, the so-called “gun-show loophole.”
Democrats want universal background checks, a ban on bump stocks and ways to take guns from domestic violence offenders and mentally unstable people.
“Arizona can lead the nation in tackling this – and in a way that is non-partisan. We’ve done this on other issues, and we can do it again,” Ducey said in a tweet.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.