Phoenix faces legal complaint over donating guns to Ukraine

Two state lawmakers complained to the Arizona Attorney General's Office Monday, saying Phoenix City Council broke state law by donating unclaimed guns to the National Police of Ukraine.

In June, the city approved a contract to transfer more than 500 unclaimed guns in Phoenix police's possession to a private company that would then export them to Ukraine.

Republican State Reps. Quang Nguyen and Selina Bliss, both representing District 1 in Yavapai County filed the complaint with Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes. The lawmakers say Phoenix's contract violates state law because cities are required by state law to sell, not donate, unclaimed guns, and because the guns must be sold to a federal firearms license holder.

If Mayes agrees with Ngyuen and Bliss' argument, the city risks losing state funding — a significant portion of the city's annual budget. Mayes has 30 days to investigate the complaint, per state law. Richie Taylor, a spokesperson for the attorney general, confirmed receiving the complaint and said the office would abide by state law.

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said the city has previously, lawfully transferred firearms to other law enforcement agencies and that "this situation is no different."

"The State Legislature welcomed support for Ukraine through similar actions under former Governor Ducey, and this transfer was done under the same logic and intent," Gallego added.

Former Gov. Doug Ducey sent 9,000 pounds of surplus military equipment to Ukraine to help in the war against Russia. The equipment included bulletproof vests, tactical gear and helmets.

Nguyen told The Arizona Republic the complaint had "nothing to do with the politics of the war." Instead, he said, it's about cities simply not being allowed to donate guns. Those firearms should be "sold back to Arizonans" and the money should go "back into the state general fund," Nguyen said.

He and Bliss pointed to state laws:

• ARS 13-3108: Says cities "shall not enact any ordinance, rule or tax relating to the transportation, possession, carrying, sale, transfer, purchase, acquisition, gift, devise, storage, licensing, registration, discharge or use of firearms..."

• ARS 12-945: Says unclaimed property may be sold and the proceeds should go to the general fund. Also says, "the agency shall sell the firearm to any business that is authorized to receive and dispose of the firearm under federal and state law and that shall sell the firearm to the public according to federal and state law, unless the firearm is otherwise prohibited from being sold under federal and state law.  A law enforcement agency may trade a firearm that it has retained to a federal firearms licensed business for ammunition, weapons, equipment or other materials to be exclusively used for law enforcement purposes."

Reps. Nguyen and Bliss, in a letter to Mayes, said "the city's willful ignorance of state law is not only troubling; it places the city in a precarious position should this issue be litigated."

They argued the former governor's donation was different because it was equipment, not firearms, and because the state executive has different legal authority than cities, which are considered subdivisions of the state.

Dispute stems from vice mayor's objection to auction off guns

Phoenix's decision to transfer unclaimed firearms came months after Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari objected to an initial plan back in December for Phoenix to sell the guns to be auctioned. The city was set to sell about 3,000 guns and collect some $150,000 per year for five years to a company called Sierra Tactical.

City officials in December told The Arizona Republic they were legally obligated to sell the guns, but Ansari said Phoenix should be not "forced into the business of selling weapons." She said putting the firearms back into circulation was antithetical to the city's goals of reducing gun violence.

By February, the city configured a new contract: to sell only the guns there were confiscated by Phoenix police via court order, not guns that were found and unclaimed or voluntarily handed over. The rest of the approximately 1,900 firearms would go back into storage, City Spokesperson Dan Wilson said at the time.

Vice Mayor Ansari told The Republic through a spokesperson, "I have one goal: to reduce the number of unclaimed guns off of Phoenix streets — especially those that may have been used in violent crimes. It's a common, legal practice among U.S. cities and it as been done in our state before. We need to take every opportunity to address the gun violence epidemic."

Reporter Taylor Seely covers Phoenix City Hall for The Arizona Republic. Reach her at tseely@arizonarepublic.com or by phone at 480-476-6116.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Two Yavapai Republican lawmakers have questioned the gun donation