Dismissing the recent New York City sting operation and undercover purchases of high-powered firearms at a Phoenix gun show, Republican Governor Jan Brewer said she and the Arizona Legislature make the laws…period. She defended Arizona’s gun laws which allow gun show sales of firearms without a background check and forbid Arizona cities from having more stringent regulations than the state law.

Arizona’s lax gun laws came under fire after the January 8 Tucson massacre when Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and 11 others were shot and six innocent bystanders were murdered. The alleged shooter, who had hints of mental instability but no diagnosis, was able to easily purchase a semi-automatic handgun and extended magazine clips; the only purpose for such high-powered weaponry is to kill lots of people very quickly.

Adding to the outrage over the massacre, New York City conducted and video taped a sting operation at the Crossroads of the West Gun Show in Phoenix 15 days after the Tucson massacre. The videos above and below show undercover investigators easily purchasing semi-automatic weapons and extended magazines from unlicensed dealers without background checks, sales tax, or any ID beyond an Arizona drivers’ license.

Even though Arizona is one of only three states that currently allows carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, training, or a background check, Brewer said she is ready to sign legislation to make Arizona gun laws even more liberal, and Arizona Legislators are kicking around several ideas like allowing guns on college campuses, allowing guns in public buildings that don’t have metal detectors, and allowing people to “shoot varmints” at night.

Brewer defended Arizona laws with 2nd Amendment soundbites. From the Arizona Daily Star…

“We’re strong people in Arizona,” she said. “We believe in the Constitution, and we certainly support the Second Amendment.”

I guess she doesn’t care if little Girl Scouts are afraid to sell cookies in front of shopping centers anymore. Or if economic development groups are afraid sane businessmen won’t relocate to Arizona because we’re crazy.

I think Arizona would be in much better shape if they controlled the sale of guns as tightly as they want to control the sale of medical marijuana. Would-be medical marijuana patients are required to be under a doctor’s care. What would have happened to Jared Loughner if he had had appropriate mental health care?

Last week the news carried several stories about the antics of Arizona’s wacky Legislature at work. What I found interesting was that in the bowels of the Arizona Daily Star, there were related stories that could have helped our Legislators in their deliberations over anchor babies,  drug smuggling, birth certificates, and gun controll– if they read the newspaper.

All of these examples are from the January 28 Star.

As Arizona’s anchor baby law takes shape, Indiana’s is struck down.

Bills would bar citizenship to illegal immigrants’ kids (page 1)

Federal ruling in Ind. favors entrants’ kids (pageA15)

Also, from the January 28 Star, Ranchers want more high-tech border surveillance, more troupes, and more guns– while Mexicans lob pot over the fence with a catapult and build tunnels. I think the Mexicans have been watching The Tudors mini-series. Henry VIII won one of his last great great battles– against a walled city– with catapults and tunnels.

Border holes must be plugged, Ariz. ranchers tell lawmakers (page 4)

Smugglers fly pot over border with catapult (page 1)

Arizona Legislators want Obama’s birth certifice once and for all. Hawaiian Legislators are now selling copies for $100 each.

Arizona lawmakers: Candidates, including Obama, must prove US birth

HI bill would give anyone Obama birth info for fee (page A17)

From the January 30 Star…
Businessmen are worried about Arizona’s image– which may be shifting from that of a sunshine state with low corporate taxes to a lawless state where armed crazy people wander the streets (ya think?)– and Girl Scouts are afraid they’ll be shot while selling cookies in front of grocery stores. In the meantime, Tucson State Senator Frank Antenori wants to further loosen gun laws and allow people to wander the streets at night “hunting varmints.”

Shooting aftermath worries business (page 1)

Booth sales frighten some Girl Scouts after shooting (page B1)

Antenori: OK night hunting of ‘varmints’ (page B1)

Russell Pearce– get your cronies to work on the state’s real problems and stop diddling around with these side issues.

Glock semiautomatic handgun like the one used to shoot Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and kill six innocent people in Tucson on January 8, 2010. (Photo Credit: Stinsonarms.com)

Regardless of what Bill O’Rielly says, right-wingers are the masters of spin.

I knew that my anti-gun-violence article in Sunday’s Tucson Citizen would spark a plethora of the 2nd Amendment freedom comments, but I was really surprised at the level of denial regarding the link between gun ownership and violence.

I was particularly shocked that some commenters said if there had been armed citizens in the crowd at the Safeway that they could have stopped the gunman from shooting 18 people and killing six. (That’s the ticket– a re-enactment of Shootout at the OK Corral in suburban Tucson. People, just because you own a gun doesn’t mean you magically know how to shoot straight.)

Another person basically said, S**t happens and brushed off the assassination attempt and mass murder as something that happens in a country with so many people.

In today’s Arizona Daily Star, the article Suspect faced no legal barrier to buying gun at local store the co-founder of a gun rights group, Charles Heller, parroted some of my readers’ comments and appears ready for the Tombstone re-enactment. (Emphasis added.)

To Heller, Saturday’s shooting rampage, which killed six and injured 14 outside a northwest-side Safeway store, is evidence of the wisdom of liberal gun laws.

“This shows why it is so vital to have an armed citizenry,” Heller said. “If you can’t get the guns out of society, what can you do? You can have a well-prepared citizenry.”

Personally, I agree with Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, who called out Arizona politicians for passing racist laws and fanning the flames of hatred and bigotry in our state.

Now Dupnik is coming under fire from wing-nut talk radio host Jon Justice and Senator Jon Kyl. As the right mobilizes against Dupnik for having the nerve to speak truth to power, the left is organizing a boycott of Justice’s advertisers.