The governor of Arizona, Janet Napolitano, vetoed Arizona House Bill 2629, which would have allowed citizens to defensively display a firearm when confronted by a criminal.
As it stands now, when a law abiding Arizona citizen is confronted by a criminal, the citizen has two choices: Draw their gun and fire, hoping that they shooting of the criminal is deemed justified, or to wait and hope the criminal doesn’t shoot first. Drawing a gun but not shooting right away would cause the citizen to be prosecuted.
Arizona House Bill 2629 would have changed the law to allow a law abiding citizen to draw their gun without shooting. This law would have made things safer for the citizen, since they need not wait until the criminal has drawn their gun or other deadly weapon first. This bill would make things safer for the criminal too, since the citizen could hold the criminal at gun point, rather than having to fire. Finally, Arizona House Bill 2629 would have made things safer for bystanders, since there would be fewer bullets fired. This common sense law would have stated “defensive display of a firearm by a person against another is justified when and to the extent a reasonable person would believe that physical force is immediately necessary to protect himself against use or attempted use of unlawful physical force or deadly physical force.”
Rather than signing this common sense bill into law, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano vetoed it, in yet another case of anti-gun politicians overriding the will of the people and the legislature.
As an law abiding Arizonan, failure to pass House Bill 2629 was a step in the wrong direction. The drug smugglers, kidnappers, human traffickers etc. are running the border towns and the drugs and violence is taking it's toll on the streets of Arizona Cities. It's a shame Janet N. was elected to Homeland Security. Do you think Arizona is safer than it was eight years ago when she was Govenor of Arizona? Look at the border town killings and kidnappings! These crimes are trickling down into our Cities and the gang issue is a serious problem in Phoenix. Do you think gun control is going to solve this issue? The law abiding citizens of Arizona and the nation have a RIGHT to defend themselves without government intervention. Gun control is NOT the answer. Border control is a giant step in the RIGHT direction. I'm sure if the "price is right" the smugglers would bring in terrorists and their weapons of mass destruction without any remorse. Remember, $$ is what this people are after. "Show me the Money" and we will give you access to America.