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Arizona Board of Regents2020 North Central Avenue, Suite 230

Phoenix, AZ 85004-4593602-229-2500

Fax 602-229-2555www.azregents.edu

Arizona State University Northern Arizona University University of Arizona

Board Members: President Ernest Caldern, Phoenix Fred T. Boice , Tucson Robert B. Bulla, ScottsdaleDennis DeConcini, Tucson Fred P. DuVal, Phoenix LuAnn H. Leonard, Polacca

Anne L. Mariucci, Phoenix Bob J. McLendon, YumaGovernor Janice K. Brewer Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne

Student Regents: Ross Meyer, ASU Jennifer Ginther , NAUExecutive Director: Joel Sideman

January 15, 2010

The Honorable Robert BurnsPresident of the Arizona State SenateThe Honorable Kirk AdamsSpeaker of the Arizona House of Representatives1700 W. WashingtonPhoenix, AZ 85007

Dear President Burns and Speaker Adams:

The Arizona Board of Regents wants to express very serious concerns about the recentchange to A.R.S. 12-781, which now requires the universities, as publicestablishments and employers, to allow individuals to bring guns onto campus property.Although that law requires that guns be locked in vehicles, it increases both theproximity and ease of access to guns on campus. It also impinges on the authority ofthe Board of Regents to establish rules for the maintenance of public order on itscampuses, as authorized by A.R.S. 13-2911.

As you know, the Arizona Board of Regents is the constitutionally created body chargedwith responsibility for public universities in Arizona. The Legislature recognized that thisresponsibility included matters of conduct and public safety in adopting A.R.S. 13-2911, which for over 30 years has given ABOR the authority to adopt rules for themaintenance of public order on its property. It anticipates that these rules will prohibitweapons on campus and expressly provides for forfeiture of weapons found in violationof these policies.

ABOR and the universities it governs have adopted and enforced those rules, whichhave always prohibited weapons, including firearms, on campus. ABOR is in the best

position to regulate conduct on its property. The universities and campus police feelvery strongly that weapons on campus present an unacceptable threat to campussafety. While recognizing the right of responsible individuals to possess firearms underother circumstances, as I personally do, the unique environment of a university campusmakes the presence of any gun, even one in a locked car, unacceptable. Members ofthe campus community come from a variety of different backgrounds, with varying

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The Honorable Robert BurnsThe Honorable Kirk AdamsJanuary 15, 2010Page 2

levels of maturity and experience, and the presence of firearms in this environmentincreases the potential for access to those firearms by irresponsible individuals.

In 2002, a student in the University of Arizona College of Nursing murdered three facultymembers before shooting and killing himself. On October 26, 2009, a graduate studentat ASU walked into a faculty member's office and shot himself. These horrific scenariosand other incidents of gun related violence at colleges and universities nationally haveincreased feelings of vulnerability and the urgency for resolving this important issue.The enclosed letter from Rojann Alpers details the fears of an individual facultymember. Also enclosed are letters opposing guns on campus from the ArizonaFaculties Council, a resolution from the University of Arizona Faculty Senate and a letterfrom the Chiefs of Police from all three universities.

This issue can be resolved by amending A.R.S. 12-781 to reflect the authority alreadygranted to the Board of Regents by exempting from the statute any public bodyauthorized in A.R.S. 13-2911 or elsewhere to adopt rules for the maintenance of orderon its property. We hope you will support our efforts to obtain this exemption.

Yours truly,

Ernest CaldernPresident

Enclosures

copy: The Honorable Janice K. Brewer, GovernorState of Arizona

Members, Arizona Board of RegentsExecutive Director, Joel SidemanPresident Michael Crow, ASUPresident John Haeger, NAUPresident Robert Shelton, UA

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