Will Arizona OK sawed-off shotguns and silencers?

Republican state Sen. Kelli Ward of Lake Havasu City apparently represents some very, very tough cookies.

On Monday she attached a floor amendment to a Senate bill (SB1460) that would allow Arizona citizens to own rifles with barrels cut to less than 16 inches in length and to use devices that muffle the noise made by firing a weapon.

Oh, yeah, and that would allow citizens to possess nunchuks, the martial arts weapon made of two sticks connected at one end by a short chain, a la Bruce Lee movies.

The amendment passed.

The federal government might frown on this particular legislation, since federal law prohibits sawed-off shotguns and silencers unless the owner first registers with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

But there are members of the Legislature, like Ward, who consider federal law more of a nuisance than, say, a LAW. They prefer to pretend that Arizona is not one state within a union of 50, but an independent nation.

And so these types of bills get introduced with some regularity, as if our new state motto is: If at first you don't secede, try, try again.

I asked Ward what motivated her to propose the amendment and she responded in an email that read:

"As I said in the floor, this was suggested by a constituent. The amendment allows law abiding citizens to have access to some things that are currently prohibited. Criminals don't care if these are legal or illegal - if they want them, they get them. Why should law-abiding citizens be limited? State sovereignty is a priority for the people in my district."

I wasn't aware that a dominate constituency in Lake Havasu City were cast-offs from "The Godfather." This is a Gangbanger's Bill of Rights.

"Take the gun; leave the cannoli...no, wait, this is Arizona. Take the sawed-off shotgun AND the cannoli."

In response to the passage of Ward's amendment, Sen. Steve Farley, a Democrat, wrote, "We can legalize weapons used primarily by criminal gangs, But we can't ban texting while driving. Lunacy reigns."

Although, to Farley and others, the wording in Ward's amendment may be problematic. Does it give this right to everyone or only to those who had lost their gun rights and had them restored.

Or, as Farley put it, "There is some question about whether her amendment actually legalizes these items for everyone, or legalizes the only for ex-felons."

So, lunacy reigns?

Maybe.

That depends on whether the legislation winds up on Gov. Doug Ducey's desk, and whether he pulls out a veto pen or allows friendly Arizona folks to take a hack saw to their favorite 12 gauge.