Alaska Legislature hypocritical when it comes to gun laws

Butch Moore has an excellent point.

The Big Lake man first gained notoriety when he and his wife, Cindy, started a public campaign to provide public school education to students about sexual assault and domestic violence. They did so after their daughter, Breanna, was shot and killed by her boyfriend in 2014. Partially because of their efforts, the Alaska Legislature passed “Bree’s Law” last year mandating such education.

Now Butch Moore is sounding off against what appears to be a hypocritical stance by the Legislature when it comes to guns.

A bill currently pending in Juneau would eliminate the university system’s ability to prohibit concealed guns on college campuses statewide. Supporters of Senate Bill 174 — who include sponsors Sen. Mike Dunleavy and Sen. Bill Stoltze of the Mat-Su Valley — say the measure will make campuses safer by allowing armed people to protect themselves and others with firearms.

But as Butch Moore has pointed out in various interviews, the proposed law asks college professors to accept a situation that legislators themselves aren’t forced to deal with. That’s because guns are banned in the state Capitol, where only law enforcement is allowed to carry them.

“If they can walk up to a professor and ask why they got a D or an F with a gun, why can’t I walk up to a legislator and have a gun on me as well?” Moore asked an Alaska Dispatch News reporter.

It’s a great question, and one we’d like to hear our local legislators answer. If an armed society is indeed a polite society, wouldn’t it make sense to extend that politeness to the Capitol? If the issue of arming citizens is so compelling and important, why aren’t legislators working to get guns into their chambers?

The answer is likely because legislators would be very uncomfortable knowing any citizen who walks into their office could be packing heat. It’s a fear college professors are now dealing with as they ponder the possibility of the passage of SB 174, and one that’s caused at least one to say he’ll leave the university if it passes.

By not extending the same pro-gun logic to their own chambers, legislators are acting in an extremely hypocritical and arrogant fashion. In effect, they’re saying they want to make college professors fearful of gun violence while they themselves hide in their own gun-free zones.

If the Legislature truly thinks more concealed firearms in public spaces makes these spaces safer, it should immediately move to allow guns in the Capitol. If not, Senate Bill 174 should be shot down.