Arizona Republic reporter Richard Ruelas says a state legislator deliberately pointed a loaded handgun at him during an interview outside the state Senate chamber in June, reports Stateline.org. Ruelas said state Sen. Lori Klein intentionally pointed her .380-caliber Ruger handgun at him while he was talking to her for a story about the first-term Republican's outspoken advocacy of gun rights. Klein disputes that account, saying she did not aim the weapon at Ruelas, but he happened to be in the gun's laser sight line.
Either way, the incident is not a violation of Arizona Senate rules, says Senator Ron Gould, the chairman of the chamber's Ethics Committee. Gould told Capitol Media Services that that the incident is a violation “of the first rule of gun safety, which is don't point a gun at anything you're not willing to shoot.” Capitol Media Services, it is “unofficial policy” in Arizona that state senators can carry guns into the Capitol building, though the public does not have that right. Nine states allow visitors to bring guns into the Capitol.