Valley Metro Gun Grabbers

A little history about guns on Valley Metro buses.

At that time the media notified the public that guns were no longer banned on Valley Metro buses.

I am not sure why Valley Metro changed its policy and stopped banning guns on it’s buses but I think it has to do with Arizona law.

Arizona is an open carry state and people can openly carry firearms anywhere they want to.

However the government can request that you not bring your firearms into buildings and vehicles owned by the government per A.R.S. §13-3102 and 13-3102.01.

But if the government does ban weapons in a building or vehicle they must allow you to check the weapon again per A.R.S. §13-3102 and and 13-3102.01.

Now I suspect somebody threatened to sue Valley Metro over that law, because while Valley Metro banned guns on its buses, Valley Metro did not provide the facilities for the drivers to check the banned guns on buses.

Of course when Valley Metro ceased to ban firearms on buses they did it only half heartedly. They didn’t bother to remove all the signs that say weapons are not allowed on buses. In fact today many buses still have signs up saying that guns and knifes are not allowed on Valley Metro buses.

Are guns allowed on Valley Metro buses and light rail?

I though many years ago guns were banned on buses.

Then I thought you guys got hit with a lawsuit that demanded that people be allowed to check their guns if they boarded a bus (per arizona law) and then you guys changed the rules and allowed people to ride buses because you dont have the facility to check guns?

If you come back and say guns are not allowed can you cite the specific ARS statute that allows you to ban guns on buses and light rail?

Thanks

It will take them 7 to 10 days to tell me if I can take my gun on a bus

Jesus Christ! These morons at Valley Metro are worse them the government morons at the IRS. It will take them 5 to 10 working days to answer my simple question “Are guns allowed on Valley Metro buses and light rail!

Of course I don’t think they are that stupid! I suspect they know that guns are allowed on both buses and light rail, but they want to give me the run around and make me think that guns are illegal on buses and light rail.

Subject: 86720
From: csr@valleymetro.org
To: ************************

Dear *****************:

Thank you for your recent e-mail submitted to our office. We apologize for any inconvenience that you may have experienced. Your comments have been forwarded to the operating contractor who will personally review the incident and contact you about the resolution. This usually takes 7-10 business days. If you have not had any response within 10 days or you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at (602) 253-5000 or via e-mail. Thank you for your support of Public Transit.

Sincerely,

Vazquez, Alma
Customer Relations Department

After 9 days I called and asked for an answer!

I suspect that Valley Metro intentionally dragged their feet in answering the question, hoping I would hang up and that they would not have to lie to me about guns being illegal on light rail and buses.

Subject:tape recorded call to Valley Metro asking about guns on light rail
Wednesday, January 14, 2009 2:22 PM
From: *****************************
To: AZRKBA@ASU.EDU

I little while ago today I called Valley Metro and tape recorded the call. The recording is at this URL

http://tape-recorder.tripod.com/guns_and_rails.WMA

She seemed like a deer that was blinded by some headlight. Duh! I don't know let me check.

After 5 minutes on hold she came back and told me that I could only take my gun on light rail if I had a permit or if I was a cop.

I explained to the woman "I don't carry my gun concealed, so I don't need a concealed weapon permit to carry it.

I carry my gun openly. it is strapped to my leg. anybody can see it. In Arizona we are an open carry state and anybody can carry a gun without a permit."

She knew exactly what I was talking about and responed "you carry your gun out in the open strapped to your leg and you want to know if it is legal to take it on light rail that way?"

then she went off to her supervisors. it took her 10 more minutes and she came back with the answer again.

No you can't take your gun on light rail unless you have a permit or your a cop.

I got her name, and here government number along with the name of her supervisor. Its all on the tape. Which is about 15 minutes long.

It is amazing that it takes them 15 minutes to tell me the wrong answer about guns on buses or light rail.

It should be in their training manual or a cheat sheet they use to answer questions.

Are guns legal on buses and light rail? Yes!

End of question. But it took them 15 minutes to give me the wrong answer on the telephone. And of course I recorded the whole thing.

I think somebody else said that they also called Valley Metro and were also told that guns were not allowed on buses or light rail.

I think we should file a lawsuit about this. They are intentionally lying to people and telling them they cant bring guns on buses or light rail.

***************

E-mail answer says guns are allowed on buses

Of course I really don’t think the folks at Valley Metro are this stupid! I think they are gun grabbers! And that by taking 10 days to answer that simple question, I think they did it intentionally to keep me from bring my gun onto their trains and buses.

Guns on Buses CAF 86720
Wednesday, January 14, 2009 3:38 PM
From: "Customer Assistance Form" csr@valleymetro.org
To: ******************

Thank you for your email communication with Valley Metro regarding passengers carrying guns on city buses. Valley Metro does not prohibit guns on city buses as provided by State Law. City buses do not have the same laws as Interstate Vehicles.

Sincerely,

Teri Collins
Program Supervisor
Valley Metro RPTA

Sorry we lied to you

Hi ***********:

I'm sorry to hear that you got some bad information. The Valley Metro reps who told you that firearms were not permitted were wrong.

Firearms are permitted on METRO trains as long as they are lawfully carried in compliance with the directives contained in the state statutes. From your email address, I am guessing that you are familiar with the rules for CCW and non-CCW carrying, so as long as you're legal, you're good to go.

I'll send a note to the supervisors of the customer service reps to ask them to ensure that their folks are aware.

Letter to government rulers

Valley Metro gave me two different answers which are different. One Valley Metro person said I can bring my guns on buses and trains and another Valley Metro person said only police officers can bring guns on buses and trains and the 2nd Admendment is null and void for us citizens.

It seems Valley Metro is a huge government bureaucracy that has both the speed and the accuracy of the huge federal government agency called the IRS. I requesting you help to get around this inefficient agency you city governments have created.

I emailed Valley Metro a fairly simple question, which I figured any junior bureaucrat could answer in 30 seconds. I asked them if guns were allowed on Valley Metro buses and light rail trains.

Instead of emailing me an answer back telling me yes or no, they sent me an email that said it would take them 5 to 10 working days to get an answer, and if somehow they forget about me to send them another e-mail.

I suspect that all of you elected rulers I am emailing now will admit that is a pretty stinking lousy answer and they should have answered my question with the first e-mail.

After nine days I got tired of waiting for an answer to be emailed to me from Valley Metro and I called them on the phone and asked them the same simple question. “Are guns allowed on Valley Metro buses and light rail trains?”

Again Valley Metro failed to give me a timely answer. It took the woman on the line 5 minutes to answer my question and she got it all mixed up.

She told me that if I was a cop I was allowed on the train with a gun, but if I was a normal person I could only come on the train if I had a concealed weapons permit.

I told the woman that I carry my gun openly, strapped to my leg and in Arizona is an open carry state and you don’t need a concealed weapons permit to carry a gun.

I told her I wanted to carry the gun openly in plain sight on the train or bus.

This time she figured out the question I wanted to ask. And she took off again to find the answer.

This time the Valley Metro response was twice as lousy as the first time. It took her 10 minutes to get the answer this time.

This time she told me that I would have to have a permit to take my gun on the light rail or buses.

I am sure you will agree with me that it is incredibly lousy service if I have to wait 15 minutes for a customer service representative to tell me if I am allowed or not allowed to carry a gun onto a Valley Metro bus or light rail train.

I taped recorded this conversation with the Valley Metro customer service representative and you can listen to it at:

http://tape-recorder.tripod.com/guns_and_rails.WMA

I would prefer not to deal with Valley Metro any more. They are incredibly slow and they are only giving me answers that are 50 percent accurate at best.

Can you guys who are the government bureaucrats or elected bureaucrats who created Valley Metro give me the correct answer?

Is it legal for me to take my gun on a Valley Metro train or bus? If it is illegal for me to take a gun on a Valley Metro train or bus can you also cite the Arizona Laws or Valley Metro rules that make it illegal?

I hope you will respond much faster then the bureaucrats at Valley Metro did.

If your one of the media contacts I BCCed the email to maybe you can write an interesting article about my problems with Valley Metro, or do a radio or TV show on it.

I have talked to a number of other gun owners about bring guns on Valley Metro buses. One other person also called Valley Metro and was also told that guns were not allowed on buses and trains, except by police officers.

Two other people sent e-mails asking if guns were allowed on Valley Metro buses and trains. One email was answered and said that guns were allowed but they had to be unloaded. Of course this conflicts with the email that I got that said guns were allowed unconditionally on buses and trains. The other person got an email that said guns were allowed unconditionally on trains and buses too.

I have talked with some gun owners and many of them think guns are allowed on buses and trains but Valley Metro is dragging its feet on this issue and even thought guns are legal Valley Metro wants to discourage people from using their 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms on Valley Metro buses and trains.

I would also like to make a public records request for copies of all Valley Metro manuals and sheets that the Customer Service Representatives use to answer questions about guns. Same for the stuff the bus drivers are given.

Thanks

xxxxx