Alia Beard Rau

The Arizona Republic

PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer for a third time in four years has vetoed legislation that would have allowed residents to carry guns into public buildings and events.

Brewer also vetoed a bill that would have made local officials personally liable for passing gun statutes that are more restrictive than the state's.

Gun advocates said they will try again next year under a new governor.

Brewer vetoed House Bill 2339, which would have allowed guns in public buildings and events that do not provide security guards and metal detectors at each entrance. It did not apply to K-12 schools, community colleges or universities.

She voiced concerns about the cost to local governments of meeting the requirements to keep guns out as well as the wisdom of allowing guns in certain public buildings. Brewer had twice vetoed similar bills, in 2011 and 2012.

"I am a strong proponent of the Second Amendment, and I have signed into law numerous pieces of legislation to advance and protect gun rights," Brewer wrote in her veto letter. "However, I cannot support this measure in its proposed form."

The other gun-related measure Brewer vetoed Tuesday was HB 2517, which would have added penalties to an existing state law that restricts cities, towns and counties from regulating firearms more strictly than the state.

If a local government passed such a regulation, the law would have required the courts to declare it invalid and allowed any government official involved in the regulation to personally be fined up to $5,000 and removed from office. Any person who felt they were adversely affected by the regulation could have sued and sought up to $100,000 in damages.

Brewer in her veto called the bill "vague" and "punitive," saying someone who perceives an ordinance is illegal can already challenge it in court.

The National Rifle Association and the Arizona Citizens Defense League supported the bills. Cities, counties and local law enforcement opposed them.

Arizona Citizens Defense League spokesman Charles Heller said Brewer's vetoes are inconsistent with her statements that she supports gun rights.

He said the goal of the public-buildings legislation was to "stop a massacre."

"We are not advocating for people to carry guns in buildings," he said. "This is about securing the building. It's saying if you put up a sign (banning guns), you've got to have security. If you don't have security, people will secure themselves."

State Sen. Steve Gallardo, D-Phoenix, has been among the most vocal opponent of such bills over the years.

"You're talking libraries, public swimming pools, the convention centers, large events," he said. "This is something we do not need in the state of Arizona."

He said he may not have such concern if the Legislature hadn't gutted the education requirements to get a concealed-weapons permit over the last several years.

"It's literally unbelievable what we've done to our CCW (concealed-carry weapons) laws," he said. "They are laughable. There is, for the most part, no training."

To get a concealed-weapons permit in Arizona, individuals must be 21 or older, a legal U.S. resident, have no felony convictions or mental illness, and must complete a firearms safety course. There are no minimum requirements for what a safety course must include and no requirement for hands-on training with a gun. Several companies offer online classes.

Arizona law allows individuals to carry guns concealed without a permit. However, a permit is necessary in most other states, inside an Arizona restaurant or bar that serves alcohol or within 1,000 feet of a school.

Gerry Hills, a Republican and a member of Arizonans for Gun Safety, lost her younger brother in 1994 to gun violence. He was serving as an off-duty police officer in Michigan when he was ambushed and killed with an AK-47 by a man with mental-health issues.

Hills said lawmakers "are far too concerned about pandering to the gun lobby, and for the most part, they are out of touch with mainstream Republicans and mainstream Arizonans.

"For instance, libraries, which is a place where children and families and vulnerable populations go all the time — that's a burden to put in metal detectors and armed security guards. It's not the environment we want for our public buildings."

Caren Teves, whose son was killed in the 2012 mass shooting at an Aurora, Colo., movie theater, said lawmakers must do more to prevent mass shootings.

"I feel like we're losing our freedom to live our everyday lives in a safe environment," she said. "More guns and less regulation is not working in our state."

Litchfield Park Mayor Tom Schoaf said he was especially concerned about the bill that would have restricted cities from creating stricter ordinances.

"It seems to have some very frightening possibilities for local elected officials," he said. "It criminalizes our good-faith actions taken on behalf of our municipalities, subjects us to personal penalties and may even attempt to remove us from office with no vote of our electors at all."

Brewer has already signed a bill which prohibits cities, towns and counties from banning the shooting of a gun or use of archery equipment on private property as long as the nearest occupied home is at least a quarter-mile away.

Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, who sponsored the bill, said it was prompted by Yavapai County's effort to restrict shooting on rural property owned by a Prescott, Ariz., man.

Hills said she does not believe the new law would conflict with the portion of state statute called Shannon's Law, which makes it a felony to fire a gun negligently within a municipality. The law is named after 14-year-old Shannon Smith, who was killed by a stray bullet in 1999.

Brewer also signed into law a bill which allows military personnel or those who have been honorably discharged to apply for a state concealed-weapons permit at age 19 instead of 21.

Brewer has not yet weighed in on two other bills passed by the Legislature: HB 2338, which would make it an aggravated-assault crime for someone to take a gun away from another person with the intent to cause harm with that gun. It would not apply to law enforcement.

The second bill, Senate Bill 1366, would modify the definition of firearms to exclude air rifles.

Contributing: Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, The Arizona Republic