Concealed Carry Handguns Allowed at Private Schools, Says Arizona Attorney General

Arizona Concealed Carry Private Schools

According to a new Arizona Attorney General’s official opinion, Arizona’s private elementary, middle and high schools can allow guns on campus.

Sen. Steve Yarbrough, R-Chandler, requested the legal opinion months ago and was recently given his answer by Attorney General Mark Brnovich, who stated that state and federal law do not prevent an individual with an Arizona concealed-carry weapons permit from carrying concealed on private school grounds in Arizona. They also do not prevent schools from having guns secured on campus for use by trained employees who are not police officers as part of a school-approved program.

“I work with a lot of private schools and several of them had inquired as to what they could to do to make their campuses safer,” Yarbrough said. “They inquired about what kind of personnel they could have on campus, and what kind of circumstances they could store firearms on campus.”

Yarbrough did not say which schools had asked, or whether any would now decide to allow guns on campus or not.

According to Brnovich’s written legal opinion, the Federal Gun Free School Zones Act (GFSZA) makes it a crime to knowingly possess a gun on the grounds of a public, parochial or private school but does not apply if the individual is licensed by the state.

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