A state lawmaker known for championing the rights of gun-owners pointed a loaded firearm at the chest of a reporter during a recent interview at the Capitol.
Republican Sen. Lori Klein was showing off her raspberry-pink handgun when she aimed it at a journalist who was interviewing her in the lounge just outside the Senate chambers.
According to the story that was published Sunday in the Arizona Republic, Klein's .380 Ruger was loaded and did not have a safety to keep the gun from going off.
But Klein told the reporter, Richard Ruelas, that he didn't need to worry because, "I just didn't have my hand on the trigger."
The story was one in a five-part series running this week in which the paper looks at the culture of guns in the Grand Canyon State. The series, according to the paper, will run every other day through Sunday.
Klein was being interviewed for the series because of her views on gun control and did not return phone calls seeking comment as to why she pulled out the weapon. No where in the story does the reporter say he felt threatened. But local gun activists contacted Sunday by the Arizona Guardian were shocked and appalled by the Senator's actions.
Whoever would do something like that needs to have a better grounding in gun safety before ever laying a hand on a firearm, said Rob Mermelstein, the range master of the Phoenix Rod and Gun Club.
Mermelstein went on to say that Klein's actions were "unconscionable" and goes against every standard of gun safety he teaches at the club. In addition, he says, these kinds of stories hurt the cause of gun owners as they try to keep the government from restricting their Second Amendment rights.
"It goes with out saying firearms owners are waging a nonstop battle for PR and any type of incident like this is not favorable to the gun-owing public," he said during a telephone interview on Sunday.
Klein made headlines in January after bringing her loaded gun into the House and Senate chambers just two days after the mass shooting in Tucson.
Klein says she carries the gun in her purse. In the past she's said that her Ruger goes wherever she does. And according to Sunday's article, the Republican lawmaker said her gun was "so cute" right before pulling out.
She then pointed it at Ruelas, who reported the red dot from the gun's laser sighting was visible on his chest. Klein later told the Republic reporter that she has taken informal gun training and was "taught gun safety by her father." Ruelas was unavailable for comment.
During her first year at the Capitol, Klein has been very vocal about protecting the rights of gun owners. She's also been a big advocate of allowing owners to carry their guns just about anywhere they want, including the workplace.
