A new ruling by Arizona’s attorney general specifies that the state’s private elementary, middle and high schools can allow guns on campus.
The ruling by Attorney General Mark Brnovich came at the request of Republican state Sen. Steve Yarbrough, and states that not only do state and federal laws not prevent an individual with an Arizona carry permit from carrying a concealed gun on private school grounds, they also don’t prevent schools from having guns secured on campus for use by trained employees.
“If an Arizona private school were to initiate a program enrolling trained firearm handling persons in a program through which these persons would be allowed to carry concealed in the school zone, the GFSZA's (Gun Free School Zones Act) prohibition would not apply to those enrolled individuals,” Brnovich wrote. “The analysis is much the same under Arizona law.”
Sen. Yarbrough told The Arizona Republic that he requested the opinion several months ago after being asked about it by officials from several private schools concerned about student safety.
