Since 2023, Governor Katie Hobbs Has Vetoed Dangerous Legislation Aimed at Shielding the Gun Industry from Local Regulations and Accountability
PHOENIX — Today, the Arizona chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots network, issued the following statement commending Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs for vetoing SB 1705. The legislation would have strengthened Arizona’s law limiting what cities, counties, and other local governments in Arizona can do when it comes to regulating guns and ammunition—reserving that authority only for the state legislature.
“At what point will extremist lawmakers realize that trying to push reckless gun laws through our legislature is a losing strategy?” said Carmen Rojas, a volunteer leader with the Arizona chapter of Students Demand Action. “Arizonans have made their voices clear year after year. We want politicians to prioritize our safety over personal interests and we shouldn’t have to rely on the Governor’s veto to make that happen.”
Since taking office in 2023, Governor Katie Hobbs has vetoed similar legislation – all passed by the Republican-led legislature. In 2023 and 2024, she vetoed another measure that would have extended Arizona’s preemption law to specifically restrict the power of local governments to prohibit gun shows from occurring in their cities or counties. SB 1705 would have punished individual local officials with monetary fines simply for trying to protect their communities from gun violence. This was just the latest effort by the Arizona legislature to safeguard the gun industry.
This session, lawmakers have advanced measures that would force Arizona universities, colleges and community colleges to let anyone with a concealed carry permit carry a gun on campus (SB 1020), incentivize schools to authorize employees to carry guns on school grounds (HB 2022), and roll back regulations on silencers (SB 1014). Earlier in the session the legislature debated a measure to repeal the entire definition of prohibited weapons under state law (HCR 2037).
Everytown’s analysis found that Arizona’s gun laws are the 8th weakest in the country. In an average year, 1,344 people die and 2,125 are wounded by guns in Arizona. Gun violence costs Arizona $15.9 billion each year, of which $253.2 million is paid by taxpayers.
If Arizona had the gun death rate of our National Leaders—the nine states with the strongest gun safety laws—we could save 11,085 lives in the next decade. More information about gun violence in Arizona is available here.