Bill to ban brass knuckles dies after failing to gain enough support in Arizona Senate

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — A proposed bill in the Arizona Senate that would have banned brass knuckles will not move forward in the state legislature. According to state Sen. John Kavanagh of Fountain Hills, the bill failed to get enough votes to be brought to the Senate floor.

“I did not have enough votes to bring it to the floor,” Sen. Kavanagh said in an emailed statement. “The opposition thought that banning them was a violation of the 2nd amendment and enough members agreed.”

The proposal was brought to lawmakers by Connor Jarnagan, a 17-year-old boy who was attacked outside an In-N-Out restaurant in Gilbert in late 2022. Once Jarnagan started hearing about similar attacks of teens ambushing other high schoolers, he wrote a letter to state lawmakers asking to ban brass knuckles.

“I was scared, I was scared for my life. The doctor did tell us if it was an inch to the left, I could’ve been paralyzed or killed,” Jarnagan told Arizona’s Family earlier this year about the assault.

The proposed bill would have banned brass knuckles “whether they’re metal, plastic, or any durable material.”

Sen. Kavanagh said he spoke to Connor and his mother this morning. “I told them that I plan to introduce it again next year when the chamber membership will be different after the election,” his statement continued. ” Hopefully, it will pass then.”

On Tuesday, Connor and his mother released the following statements:

Brass knuckles are legal without a permit in only 12 states, including Arizona. The weapon is illegal in 21 states, including neighboring states Nevada and California. Meanwhile, the city of Phoenix has banned brass knuckles, but the proposed legislation would have expanded the ban to every community.

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.

Copyright 2024 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.