Pima County (Ariz.) Sheriff Clarence Dupnik angrily criticized his state's gun laws during a Sunday news conference updating the media about the investigation into the mass shooting in Tucson a day earlier at a political event.
"I have never been a proponent of letting everybody in this state carry weapons under any circumstances that they want," said Dupnik, a Democrat. "And that's almost where we are."
Jared Lee Loughner, 22, appears in court Monday to face charges relating to the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and 18 other people.
Loughner legally purchased the Glock 19 9mm semi-automatic handgun he used in the shooting from the Sportsman's Warehouse outlet in Tucson on Nov. 30. He passed an instant background check required under federal law for all gun buyers. A law enacted last year allowed Loughner to conceal and carry the pistol without a permit, reports the Washington Post.
Dupnik also criticized state legislators, who proposed a bill that would allow students and teachers to carry concealed weapons on Arizona college campuses.
