The fiancee and family of former ASU graduate student Gabe Zimmerman showed their support Tuesday for a bill that would ban large capacity ammunition clips in Arizona.
Zimmerman died Jan. 8 in the mass shooting in Tucson and was the community outreach director of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was hospitalized after being shot in the head.
His family attended a press conference at the state Capitol to support House Bill 2711, proposed by Assistant House Minority Leader Steve Farley.
“Today we are not here to make sense of a senseless tragedy,” Farley said. “Today we have the opportunity to be better and to fix a broken system. As an Arizonan, I support the Second Amendment, and I believe that law-abiding citizens should have the right to own guns. I also believe in common sense.”
The bill, introduced by Farley and 19 other Democratic lawmakers, would ban magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
High-capacity magazines like these were banned in the United States from 1994 to 2004.
According to authorities, the shooter who killed Zimmerman and five others had a magazine with more than 30 rounds in it. Thirteen others were injured in the attack, including Rep. Giffords.
“We are never going to prevent all incidents like this in the future, but it is clear that we can prevent many needless deaths and injuries by using common sense laws like this one,” Farley said.
Farley’s bill would make it a Class 4 felony to manufacture, possess, transport, sell or transfer weapons that hold more than 10 rounds.
Kelly O’Brien, Zimmerman’s fiancee, also spoke about her support of the bill.
“I do not own a gun, but I respect every American’s constitutional right to have a gun,” O’Brien said. “However, every constitutional right comes with responsibility. It is entirely reasonable to limit gun magazines to 10 bullets as Representative Farley is proposing.”
Those opposed to the bill believe that it goes against their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
Soccoro Pantaleon, a political science junior, is in support of the Second Amendment and believes changing the laws won’t make a big difference.
“The guns aren’t the issue,” Pantaleon said. “It’s the disturbed people who commit murder. People who want to kill will always find ways to do it, whether it be with a knife, poison, or a gun.”
Farley understands the opposing viewpoint but still believes a change is necessary.
“This bill will not impact law-abiding gun owners’ ability to own guns or buy ammunition to protect themselves,” Farley said. “It will ensure that large capacity ammunition magazines which are used on battlefields are not readily available to end up in the wrong hands.”
Amanda Barchilon, a public relations sophomore who was at the press conference, was also in support of HB 2711.
“I support the bill because they are not trying to limit guns,” Barchilon said. “It’s limiting the amount of carnage that can come from a signal magazine.”
Farley acknowledged that this bill would not change what already happened, but may be able to keep similar tragedies from happening in the future.
“We all wish we could just turn back time and bring back our family and loved ones but we know that we can’t,” Farley said. “We can honor their memory by doing everything we can to save lives in the future.”
Reach the reporter at acirving@asu.edu
