Arizona

GOP senators want to arm Arizona college students … with guns

Published

9 months ago

February 12, 2024

GOP senators want to arm Arizona college students … with guns

Opinion: Of all the bad ideas swirling around the Arizona Legislature, surely the bill to allow guns on college campuses is among the worst. College students should be packing books, not pistols.

It’s an annual rite of passage at the state Capitol: What can we do this year to get guns into __________ (fill in the blank)?

This year’s arming-Arizona bill is brought, as it has been so many times before, by Sen. Wendy Rogers, R-Flagstaff, or possibly Tempe or more likely Chandler.

This (supposedly) northern Arizona Republican is urging the GOP-run Legislature to pass a bill that would allow college students to bring their guns onto campus, provided they’re 21, have passed a background check and undergone two whole hours of firearms training.

That’s not two hours a quarter or even two hours a year, by the way. It’s two hours, period. And you don’t even have to demonstrate that you know how to shoot a gun.

“If you have a concealed carry permit you should be able to carry on campus to defend yourself,” Rogers told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

NAU shooting proves what can go wrong

I mean, what could go wrong?

I’d ask Steven Jones but he is unavoidably detained in a prison cell in Safford.

Jones was a student at Northern Arizona University in the fall of 2015, when an early morning fight broke out at a fraternity party and spilled onto campus. Accounts differ, as they always do, but Jones would later tell police he was being chased by a group of drunken, angry students from a rival fraternity. Fearing for his life, he ran to his car, which was parked just outside his dorm, and grabbed his gun.

Jones’ first burst of shots hit Colin Brough and another student. He then fired again, wounding two others, after a group of students tackled him.

The students told police they were trying to stop Jones from shooting anyone else. Jones said he believed they were trying to get his gun so they could shoot him.

When it was over, Brough was dead, three other students were wounded and Jones was a convicted felon, wishing he could trade his life for the one he took.

It marked the first time a shooting had ever happened on the Flagstaff campus.

Concealed carry doesn’t belong on campus

Senate Bill 1198 would allow anyone with a concealed weapons permit to pack heat on a public college or university campus in Arizona.

Naturally, the bill is opposed by college and university police departments, knowing as they do that 20-somethings are prone to all manner of stressful situations in which a gun is the absolute last thing they need.

Republican senators, however, scoffed at that, saying students need to be able to protect themselves from rapists and mass murderers and such.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Anthony Kern was particularly excited about the bill, announcing to those present that he was packing his pistol and ready for action.

“I’m carrying right now and I can tell you if somebody came in here shooting, they would be my first target,” the Glendale Republican said.

Perhaps Kern really is that good.

Perhaps that two hours of training required to get a concealed weapons permit included at least a few minutes on how to safely shoot in that stress-packed, adrenaline-pumping moment when a bad guy bursts in to Kern’s hearing room.

Even police officers can make mistakes

Me? I’d be more inclined to put my money on his fellow Judiciary colleague, Sen. Justine Wadsack, R-Tucson. I’ve seen her strike a pose outside the Capitol with her assault-style weapon — in high heels, no less — so I’d be feeling pretty good about my chances with her in the room.

But I digress.

Police officers train regularly for that high stress moment when duty calls. Even then, they make mistakes.

“The assumption that somebody can take (a class), particularly a civilian, and be a competent shooter in a combat situation is misplaced,” Mike Bielecki, representing the Maricopa County Community College Faculty Association, told the committee.

Last year: Prescott lawmakers jump to save Phoenix’s guns

But Kern wasn’t having it, noting that college campuses are violent places and that laws are lax.

“If you shoot up 30 people you’re out in two years,” he said. “You see it every day in our media. Assaults on police officers from illegals from across the border, so absolutely, 100%, I think everybody in this room should be carrying. An armed society is a safe society.”

And a Senate Judiciary Committee armed with intellect is …. non-existent, it seems.

Gov. Hobbs will veto the bill, at least

I don’t know of anyone who was set free after shooting up 30 people, as Kern claims, and I don’t see how telling college kids to bring their Glocks to class protects police officers. Or really, anyone.

But here’s what I do know. This bill will be vetoed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, just as it was last year.

Despite that, it passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 4-3 party line vote, with Rogers noting that gun-free zones send a message to the bad guys.

“Where is safest place in Arizona?” she asked. “A gun show.”

Yet I note that not even a sharpshooter like Kern could come packing to a gun show. Not legally, anyway.

Gun shows don’t allow loaded weapons.

Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LaurieRoberts.

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Arizona

Arizona State could push Big 12 title chase to final weekend

Published

7 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

Arizona State could push Big 12 title chase to final weekend

TEMPE, AZ (AP/AZFamily) — The Arizona State Sun Devils are set for a huge matchup this weekend when they host the BYU Cougars at Mountain America Stadium.

Saturday’s game in Tempe will have massive implications in the Big 12 Conference with multiple teams chasing a title game appearance.

A win over the 14th-ranked Cougars would massively boost title game hopes for the 21st-ranked Sun Devils. Ticket prices have been soaring for the highly anticipated conference game.

Arizona State Head Coach Kenny Dillingham joined Good Morning Arizona on Thursday to talk about the team’s expectation-busting season. Watch the full interview in the video player at the top of this page.

Things to watch this week in the Big 12 Conference:

Game of the week

No. 14 BYU (9-1, 6-1 Big 12, No. 14 CFP) at No. 21 Arizona State (8-2, 5-2, No. 21), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)

League newcomer Arizona State has a three-game winning streak and BYU is coming off its first loss. The Cougars, after losing at home to Kansas, still control their own destiny in making the Big 12 championship game. They can clinch a spot in that Dec. 7 game as early as Saturday, if they win and instate rival Utah wins at home against No. 22 Iowa State.

Arizona State was picked at the bottom of the 16-team league in the preseason media poll, but already has a five-win improvement in coach Dillingham’s second season.

The undercard

No. 16 Colorado (8-2, 6-1, No. 16 CFP) at Kansas (4-6, 3-4), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (Fox)

Coach Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes are in prime position to make the Big 12 title game in their return to the league after 13 seasons in the Pac-12. If BYU and Utah win, Colorado would be able to claim the other title game spot with a win over Kansas. The Buffs have a four-game winning streak.

The Jayhawks need another November win over a ranked Big 12 contender while trying to get bowl eligible for the third season in a row. Kansas has won consecutive games over Top 25 teams for the first time in school history, knocking off Iowa State before BYU.

Impact players

Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht has thrown a touchdown in a school-record 14 consecutive games, while receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel both have more than 800 yards receiving. San Jose State is the only other FBS team with a pair of 800-yard receivers. Becht has 2,628 yards and 17 touchdowns passing for the Cyclones (8-2, 5-2), who are still in Big 12 contention.

Inside the numbers

Oklahoma State goes into its home finale against Texas Tech with a seven-game losing streak, its longest since a nine-game skid from 1977-78. The only longer winless streak since was an 0-10-1 season in 1991. This is Mike Gundy’s 20th season as head coach, and his longest losing streak before now was five in a row in 2005, his first season and the last time the Cowboys didn’t make a bowl game. … Baylor plays at Houston for the first time since 1995, the final Southwest Conference season. The Cougars won last year in the only meeting since to even the series 14-14-1. … Eight Big 12 teams are bowl eligible. As many as six more teams could reach six wins.

Repeating 1,000

The Big 12 already has four 1,000-yard rushers, including three who did it last season. UCF’s RJ Harvey is the league’s top rusher (1,328 yards) and top scorer with 21 touchdowns (19 rushing/two receiving). The others with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons are Texas Tech career rushing leader Tahj Brooks (1,184 yards) and Kansas State’s DJ Giddens (1,128 yards). Cam Skattebo with league newcomer Arizona State has 1,074 yards.

Devin Neal, the career rushing leader at his hometown university, is 74 yards shy of being the first Kansas player with three 1,000-yard seasons. Cincinnati’s Corey Kiner needs 97 yards to reach 1,000 again.

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Arizona

What BYU coach Kalani Sitake said about Arizona State game

Published

15 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

What BYU coach Kalani Sitake said about Arizona State game

BYU’s stock plummeted this week.

After suffering a 17-13 loss to Kansas — their first loss of the season — the Cougars dropped from No. 6 to No. 14 in the College Football Playoff Rankings and into a tie with Colorado for first place in the Big 12.

And now they’re 3.5-point underdogs to Arizona State (8-2) in arguably the biggest game on the college football schedule this weekend. The winner will be in the pole position for a berth in the Big 12 championship game; the loser will be all but eliminated.

BYU coach Kalani Sitake knows anything can happen in the Big 12, and the Cougars are still very much alive for a berth in the College Football Playoff.

“You look at the conference, there’s a lot of parity … anyone has a shot,” Sitake said during his weekly press conference.

Here is a snapshot of what Sitake said ahead of BYU’s game with Arizona State:

Sitake on ASU Coach Kenny Dillingham

“Kenny Dillingham is a really good coach. I have a lot of respect for him and the way he coaches his team. You can tell he’s got a great connection with his players, and he’s a local kid so he’s from that area. He grew up an ASU fan and knows what that program can do. … I think he did it the right way bringing in a lot of local staff. … I know a lot of guys on his coaching staff. They’re really good coaches, good men.

“Looking at the talent that they have, it’s a difficult matchup. You have to be ready. We’re going on the road. We already know the time for that game and that it will be a little better weather than what we have here [in Provo]. Looking forward to the matchup. I think the goal is for us, like we said every week, stay humble, stay hungry and find ways to get better.”

Sitake on ASU Quarterback Sam Leavitt

“Really good player. He comes from a good family. He’s super athletic. He can run, he’s got an accurate arm. I think he’s got a great football IQ. He’s dangerous. He’s got a lot of football to play. I think he he saw some opportunities over there at ASU and you look at him, he’s thriving in it. He’s going to be a difficult matchup for us for sure. But man, it’s good to see good young men that you know are from amazing families get what they want. He’s doing some really cool things and he’s going to be doing really good things for a long time becauase I think he’s only a freshman right now. The sky’s the limit for him. Hopefully we just don’t see that great ‘sky limit’ performance this weekend.”

Sitake on BYU’s Recent Offensive Struggles

“There’s a fine line between it all … the key to execution is just eliminating the mistakes. There shouldn’t be any mistakes. Whether it’s alignment issues or technique issues or even running the wrong route or not doing the correct assignment. So all that should be cleaned up. But there’s also some room for improvement where you can actually install some stuff. You want to have a foundation of stuff that you’re good at and that you could lean on, but that’s the stuff that everybody knows is coming. So we have to have that and you have to have a little bit of install that gives you the favorable matchup, depending on who you’re going against.”

“That’s what we’re trying to get done. Obviously it’s worked quite a bit, and the offense they’re getting in the red zone. We’ve just got to score touchdowns. It’s hard to get in the red zone and only kick field goals. Even though you have a good kicker like Will Ferrin you’re going to need to score points and score touchdowns and finish the drives. It gives you a little bit more motivation and a little bit more ‘umph’ when you’re trying to get it done, so that’s what we’re focusing on.”

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Arizona

Five Takeaways: Arizona defense Wednesday press conference (TCU)

Published

22 hours ago

November 20, 2024

Press Room

Five Takeaways: Arizona defense Wednesday press conference (TCU)

Fresh off breaking its five-game losing streak last week, Arizona heads back on the road this week to take on one of the most potent passing attacks in the country in TCU.

The Wildcats are coming off one of their most complete defensive performances this past week and figure to be challenged more against the Horned Frogs who head into this week boasting the No. 6 passing offense in the country. They will challenge the banged up Arizona secondary that has had many younger players step into key roles as the season has progressed. We’ve seen improvement across the board from them as they’ve seen more reps on the field.

Here are five takeaways from coach Brett Arce as well as Owen Goss and Dominic Lolesio during Wednesday’s press conference.

Dominic Lolesio getting into the starting lineup

The injuries continue to pile up on the defensive side of the ball for Arizona that has led to lots of new players stepping into roles they may not have expected to be in at the start of the season.

Redshirt freshman Dominic Lolesio saw the field more last week in what was one of the more complete defensive performances of the season by Arizona. Lolesio recorded five tackles and a 0.5 tackle for loss.

“That’s just the standard,” Lolesio said. “We practice that all week. Our thing is to swarm to the ball and play together and have fun. I mean doing it all week in practice and then being able to go out and do it on Friday felt really good.”

Despite the injuries that have come up for Arizona, the next man up stance remains the same for the team.

“I feel like everyone is just as ready as the next man up,” Lolesio said.

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