Arizona is hot on Utah’s heels, following its lead to designate its own official state gun.
The Arizona House early Wednesday narrowly approved the Colt Single Action Army Revolver as the state’s official gun. The bill had been rejected earlier in an all-night session, the AP reports, but it eventually won approval by a 32-25 vote.
“Anytime you see a Western movie, the revolver in John Wayne’s hand is a Colt single action,” Arizona state Sen. Ron Gould (R) told Reuters. “This is a historic firearm and it fits well with the story of Arizona.”
But state Sen. Albert Hale (D) — former president of the Navajo Nation — said “the gun symbolized the extinction, the extermination of those Indians who were here.”
As TPM reported in February, more than 40 state lawmakers co-sponsored the legislation. Buffalo Bill Cody, Bat Masterson and others were popular owners of the gun, Reuters writes. If signed into law by Gov. Jan Brewer (R), the Colt revolver would join the bola tie, cactus wren and turquoise among Arizona’s state symbols.
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David Taintor
David Taintor is TPM’s News Editor. He contributes to TPM’s Livewire coverage, among other areas. David is from Chanhassen, Minnesota, where, yes, it gets very cold. Reach him at taintor [at] talkingpointsmemo.com
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