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House floor debate highlights split over firearm preemption bills; amendment to remove preemption fails
Summary
Lawmakers debated multiple firearm-related measures, including an amendment to remove state preemption from Senate Bill 17-05. Representative Marquez’s floor amendment to restore local authority failed on a division, and the committee had given SB 17-05 a due-pass recommendation earlier in the session.
Members of the Arizona House spent significant time debating bills related to firearms policy and state preemption. The most contested action was a floor amendment offered by Representative Marquez to Senate Bill 17-05 that would have removed statewide preemption language and allowed cities and towns to enact their own firearms ordinances.
Representative Marquez framed the amendment as a local-control measure intended to allow municipalities to adopt "life saving policies like gun buyback programs," and said the amendment would leave in place only Game and Fish authority for hunting. "When this body considers preemptions, I think we should consider that we are here as state legislators," Marquez said, arguing for greater deference to local governments.
Opponents cited the Arizona Constitution and Second Amendment protections in defending state preemption. Representative Fink read Arizona's constitutional language and urged members to preserve statewide uniformity: "We have all taken an oath to uphold the Arizona constitution...the right of the individual citizen to bear arms...shall not be impaired." Representative Wenninger characterized removing preemption as "anti-Arizona and anti-American."
The Marquez floor amendment went to division and, after members stood and votes were counted, the amendment failed with 21 ayes and 32 nays. Earlier in the day the Committee of the Whole had given SB 17-05 a due-pass recommendation; the committee report language and subsequent procedural steps placed the bill on third reading.
A related measure, Senate Bill 11-43, which aims to prevent creation of firearm registries, also received debate on the House floor and was reported out of committee with a due-pass recommendation. Members on both sides connected the bills to broader questions about veteran suicide prevention, firearm safety policy and local regulatory authority.
Why it matters: The votes show the majority of the House prefers maintaining statewide uniform firearms rules and preemption over restoring local authority for gun-safety measures. The failed amendment and committee recommendations advance preemption-focused legislation to subsequent steps in the legislative process.
Provenance: The committee report for SB 17-05 appears in the transcript where the committee recommended the bill do pass; Representative Marquez’s floor amendment and the division vote are recorded as the amendment failing 21 ayes and 32 nays.
