Roundup: The Face of Conservatism: One Arizona Law Makes Guns Far More Accessible/Portable; The Other Restricts Women's Rights

Roundup: The Face of Conservatism: One Arizona Law Makes Guns Far More Accessible/Portable; The Other Restricts Women’s Rights

Oct 2, 2009, 9:23am

Jodi Jacobson

In what some might consider an ironic twist, on Wednesday in Arizona, a law making guns more easy to access and carry in public went into effect the same day that restrictions on women's rights to choose abortion also went into effect, stirring controversy among Arizona residents, businesses, organizations and politicians.

In what some might consider an ironic twist, on Wednesday a law making guns accessible and more portable in public went into effect the same day that restrictions on women’s rights to choose to terminate an unintended pregnancy went into effect in Arizona.

Arizona StatePress.com reports that both laws are “stirring controversy among Arizona residents, businesses, organizations
and politicians.”

The new laws allow guns to be kept in cars on campus, as well as on
public and private properties. New abortion laws, which have been
challenged in court, impose a 24-hour waiting period for women seeking
abortions.

Another new gun law allows licensed gun owners to carry concealed
weapons into bars and restaurants unless there is a sign on the
property prohibiting firearms, according to state legislative documents.

A student leader at Arizona State University (ASU), sophomore Christopher Chesny, secretary of the ASU
College Republicans, said the new gun laws “are well thought out and
protect Second Amendment rights.” In other words, more guns will be available to more people in more places.

But ASU President Michael Crow said in an Arizona Board of Regents
meeting Friday that allowing concealed weapons in locked vehicles on
campus goes against the environment he wants for the University.

“Our job as university presidents is to create an environment for
openness, tolerance, communication, understanding — all these things,”
Crow said. “The public projection of weapons is a counter to the
creation of that environment.”

There are some 30,000 deaths from handguns in the United States each year, and firearms are responsible for more deaths among children and young adults ages 10 to 19 than any other cause except car accidents.

According to testimony by Senator Carl Levin:

An analysis of firearm violence data by the Children’s Defense Fund
found that 3,006 children and teens were killed by guns in 2005. This
marked the first time that more than 3,000 kids were killed by firearms
in many years and the first yearly increase in the number of children’s
deaths since 1994. Broken down, this amounts to 1 child or teen dying
every 3 hours in America, 8 children a day, or 58 children every week.

Firearms are the cause of death of more children between the ages of 10
and 19 than any other cause except car accidents. In 2005 alone, a
shocking 69 preschoolers were killed by firearms. Between 1979 and
2005, gun violence took the lives of over 104,000 children and teens.

David Berman, a senior research fellow for ASU’s Morrison Institute
for Public Policy, said in an e-mail that the new laws are a result of
Republican Jan Brewer succeeding Janet Napolitano as governor because Brewer is a conservative.

And, says StatePress.com “since Brewer stepped into office as governor, abortion laws have also seen reform.”

While parts of the abortion restrictions bill passed by the Arizona legislature and signed by Brewer
were challenged and blocked in court last Tuesday, some provisions that
slow down the process of getting an abortion were allowed to take
effect Wednesday.

A state judge ruled Tuesday that women could receive information
about the risks of and substitutes for abortion on the phone from a
physician instead of meeting in person as the original bill would have
required.

Women must now have a consultation with a physician at least 24 hours before an abortion.

Due to persistent opposition to the bills, the judge also stopped
other provisions of the bills from becoming law. These included
requiring minors to present notarized consent for an abortion from a
parent or guardian, allowing health care professionals to refuse to
assist in an abortion, and prohibiting nurse practitioners from
performing surgical abortions.

Planned Parenthood was a major opponent to the new abortion bills.

Bryan Howard, president of Planned Parenthood Arizona, said the
organization had been actively involved in trying to stop this
legislation since it was introduced in February.

About 7,000 Arizonans sent messages to legislators against these abortion measures, Howard said.

“It was a pretty significant outpouring of sentiments,” he said.

In her piece today on Rewire, Tori Schroeder talks about the various was i which access to abortion in Arizona remains restricted.

Other News:

October 2

Des Moines Register: Santorum: Health bill may cover abortions

Denver Post: Abortion latest snag in health reform

Trail Gazette: Life Chain spreads pro-life message coast to coast

Creative Minority Report: Pro-Choice Violence Doesn’t Count

FOX News: Support for Abortion Rights Declines Under Obama

AsiaOne: One in 10 teens has had unsafe sex, survey shows

LifeSiteNews: Cardinal Rigali: Contraception and Abortion Create Hostility toward Children