PHOENIX (AP) - The Latest on the student organizers of a gun reform march planned for Saturday in Phoenix (all times local):
5:40 p.m.
The student activists behind this weekend’s planned Phoenix march for gun reform are continuing to call on Gov. Doug Ducey to meet with them, even offering him a speaker’s slot at the rally.
The teens, who held a sit-in at Ducey’s office last week, accused him at a news conference Wednesday at the state Capitol of dodging their attempts to have a dialogue.
They also reiterated their beliefs that his school safety proposals do not go far enough.
The youths say the plan does not incorporate measures such as universal background checks at every point of a gun sale or a ban on bump stocks.
Thousands are expected at the march at the state Capitol.
The organizers are advising participants not to engage with counter-protesters.
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11:10 a.m.
Student gun control activists disappointed in Gov. Doug Ducey’s school safety proposals plan to tout some of their own.
Teen organizers will hold a news conference Wednesday afternoon at the state Capitol ahead of this weekend’s “March for Our Lives.”
The teens described Ducey’s plans as “window dressing” designed to appease the National Rifle Association.
Ducey proposed Monday funding more school resource officers and mental health services in schools. He also would allocate money for technology fixes to get state convictions into the federal gun background check system.
The students say they want to meet with the governor about legislation that would ensure background checks for all gun sales, ban bump stocks and keep firearms away from the mentally ill.
Saturday’s march is one of hundreds planned across the U.S.
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