hopefully the arizona republic wont follow this trend in phoenix.
To our readers
As time goes by, the environment in which we live and work changes. That is just as true for newspapers as it is for each of us personally. Periodically, we need to adjust to the world as we find it.
In the last year, laws regarding the purchase of firearms have changed. The law now requires that those who buy guns at retailers undergo a background check before the gun is sold.
For some time, it has concerned us at The Arizona Daily Star that people who buy guns from individuals selling them through our classified ads circumvent the requirement for background checks. In an age of increasing gun violence, it is difficult to defend our part in the transaction. As a result, The Arizona Daily Star will no longer allow individuals to sell firearms through our classified ads. Ads already placed will run, but no new ads will be taken. We will still run ads from dealers.
We hope the community will understand that we do this because we care about the city in which we live. Refusing the ads will not stop the unsupervised sale of guns in Tucson, unfortunately. But we hope it will help.
- Jane Amari, editor and publisher