Legislature(2013 - 2014)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/05/2014 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB171 | |
| SB108 | |
| SB173 | |
| SB176 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | SB 176 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | SB 108 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | SB 173 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| = | SB 171 | ||
SB 176-REG. OF FIREARMS/KNIVES BY UNIVERSITY
2:19:09 PM
CHAIR COGHILL announced the consideration of SB 176."An Act
relating to the regulation of firearms and knives by the
University of Alaska." This was the second hearing.
HANS RODVIK, Intern, Senator John Coghill, sponsor of SB 176,
informed the committee that Brian Judy was available to testify.
2:20:35 PM
BRIAN JUDY, Alaska State Liaison, National Rifle Association
(NRA), Sacramento, California, testified in support of SB 176.
He opened his testimony with several questions and stated that
SB 176 simply erases arbitrary lines that require different
standards. He said the Alaska Constitution recognizes that self-
defense is a fundamental preexisting right and SB 176 is about
law abiding citizens being able to provide self-protection on
both sides of that arbitrary line. He pointed out the problems
with the idea that defense ought to be left up to the
professionals: 1) it can take law enforcement too long to
respond; and 2) the courts have ruled that police are
responsible for protecting society at large, not individuals. He
cited mass killings in recent years perpetrated in gun-free
zones as evidence that gun-free school zones are a public policy
failure. He said this comes as no surprise to those who support
the individual right to keep and bear arms and the right to
provide a means of personal defense. He said it's astounding
that many people don't grasp the simple truth that criminals
don't obey gun laws or designated gun-free zones, because the
reality is that only potential victims are gun free in gun-free
zones.
2:23:49 PM
He described the arguments that were made during a previous
committee hearing as predictable scare tactics designed to
derail the bill. He said the hypotheticals that were posed are
similar to hypotheticals of horror that the legislature has
heard every time firearm legislation has been introduced in the
past 20 years, but they've never materialized.
MR. JUDY stressed that the majority of people on campuses are
law abiding and they currently don't have an opportunity to
protect themselves, just as the victims at Virginia Tech didn't
have an opportunity. The Virginia Legislature considered, but
didn't pass, similar legislation just before the attack. That
lack of action ensured those individuals were sitting ducks, he
said. The bottom line is that SB 176 is intended to erase the
arbitrary lines and make the laws uniform both off and on
campus. It's a matter of common sense, he said.
2:29:36 PM
SENATOR DYSON asked if he had statistics to show that more
children have died from accidents like drowning than from
firearms.
MR. JUDY replied he didn't have the statistics in hand, but that
is generally true.
CHAIR COGHILL asked Mr. Rodvik if he had compiled that
information.
MR. RODVIK replied he posted to BASIS some statistics provided
by the Gun Owners Association including that, in a four-year
period, twice as many children are killed playing football in
school compared to the number of students who were murdered by
firearms during that same period.
2:31:58 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked Mr. Judy to talk about the
experiences in states like Utah that have similar laws.
MR. JUDY said Utah has allowed the possession of firearms on
campuses for about ten years and there has never been a gun
violence incident. He offered to provide a copy of the letter
that the Utah attorney general wrote when Nevada was considering
similar legislation.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI indicated interest in receiving a copy.
CHAIR COGHILL said he would distribute copies of the letter.
2:34:04 PM
SENATOR OLSON asked his experience with guns that accidentally
go off in public forums.
MR. JUDY said the fact is that firearms accidents are relatively
rare compared to other types of accidental harm. The empirical
evidence across the states is the same; there are virtually no
accidents associated with law-abiding citizens carrying
firearms. He cited military recruiting on campus and stressed
that people who can be trusted to carry firearms in defense of
the country should be trusted to carry a firearm in their own
defense.
SENATOR OLSON commented that his experience in school was that
many students shouldn't be trusted with a firearm. He added that
he didn't believe that the bill with the concealed provision was
relevant to the Virginia Tech example.
MR. JUDY agreed that the responsible way to carry a firearm for
self-protection is in a holster and concealed. Perhaps the
legislature will want to tighten this law at some point to
ensure certain, more responsible ways to carry, he said.
2:40:32 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if there have been challenges under
the Alaska Constitution to the individual right to carry
anywhere including a university campus.
MR. JUDY said not to his knowledge.
2:42:44 PM
CEEZAR MARTINSON, Vice President, UAA Political Science
Association, University of Alaska-Anchorage, Anchorage, Alaska,
testified in support of SB 176. He said Article 1, Section 19 of
the Alaska Constitution is very clear that neither the state nor
any political subdivision can violate the individual right to
keep and bear arms, and the university policy regarding
concealed carry on campus is in direct contradiction. He
stressed that it is time for the legislature to correct the
inequity that the university policy creates.
MIKE COONS, representing himself, Palmer, Alaska, testified in
support of SB 176. He disagreed with the points that President
Gamble made when he testified in a previous hearing. He
maintained that the testimony was designed to create emotion and
hide facts.
2:47:24 PM
MONTANA WARE, President, Young Americans for Liberty (YAL),
Anchorage, Alaska, testified in support of SB 176. He questioned
the logic of the signs that prohibit guns on campus and pointed
out that this policy violates Article 1, Section 9 of the Alaska
Constitution. He said he considers it his right to have the
means to protect himself under any threatening circumstances,
and believes that the UAA policy potentially puts lawful
students in an unnecessarily unfavorable position. It is
pertinent to the incident at Virginia Tech; with a bill like SB
176, any victims or potential victim would have had an
opportunity to stop the gunman before he hurt many other
students. He thanked Senator Coghill and his staff for taking
steps to make Alaskans feel secure and protecting the right to
self-defense.
SENATOR DYSON voiced exception to Mr. Coons' remarks about
President Gamble and encouraged everyone to be respectful.
CHAIR COGHILL echoed the comment, with the caveat that it should
not dampen passion.
2:51:07 PM
MATTHEW CARBERRY, representing himself, Anchorage, Alaska,
testified in support of SB 176. He referenced the question about
whether the university policy had been challenged and offered
his opinion that there is a strong case that the university
policy violates both the state and federal constitutions. He
cited recent Ninth Circuit Court opinions that say government
agencies can't utterly abrogate the right to carry and noted
that the same right exists under the state constitution. By
comparison, the Board of Regents' grant of authority is limited
to adopting reasonable rules, orders and plans for good
governance of the university and regulation of the Board of
Regents. Clearly, the university doesn't have a legal leg to
stand on; their position is weak and has been dependent on no
one challenging it, he said.
MR. CARBERRY indicated he would submit written testimony.
2:56:41 PM
MICHAEL BUCKLAND, representing himself, Anchorage, Alaska, said
he's a lifelong Alaskan, decorated Vietnam veteran, and tenured
professor at UAA who strongly supports SB 176. He has taught for
25 years and doesn't feel threatened by the idea that his
students and other law-abiding Alaskans will have weapons. The
fact is that horrible shootings happen in zones that are
effectively gun-free, he said.
He concluded that public safety will be enhanced with this
legislation, because a good guy with a gun will be able to stop
the bad guy with a gun.
CHAIR COGHILL said public testimony would be taken again on
Monday.
He held SB 176 in committee.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB 173 ADN Article 2.8.14.pdf |
SJUD 3/5/2014 1:30:00 PM |
SB 173 |
| SB 173 ADN Article 2.4.14.pdf |
SJUD 3/5/2014 1:30:00 PM |
SB 173 |
| SB 173 ADN Article 1.22.14.pdf |
SJUD 3/5/2014 1:30:00 PM |
SB 173 |
| SB 173 - Anchorage Ordinance.pdf |
SJUD 3/5/2014 1:30:00 PM |
SB 173 |
| SB 173 - Alaska Dispatch Article 1.10.14.pdf |
SJUD 3/5/2014 1:30:00 PM |
SB 173 |
| SB 173 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
SJUD 3/5/2014 1:30:00 PM |
SB 173 |
| Legal Memo 2.10.14.pdf |
SJUD 3/5/2014 1:30:00 PM |
SB 173 |
| SB 173 ADN Article 12.18.13.pdf |
SJUD 3/5/2014 1:30:00 PM |
SB 173 |
| Fiscal Note - University.pdf |
SJUD 3/5/2014 1:30:00 PM |
SB 176 |
| Written Testimony - OVR #2.pdf |
SJUD 3/5/2014 1:30:00 PM |
SB 108 |