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Lawmaker wants blood-alcohol test after accidental shootings

Posted: Feb 3, 2013 8:33 PM by Sam Salzwedel
Updated: Feb 3, 2013 10:06 PM


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TUCSON - A city council member wants police to test blood-alcohol levels after accidental shootings.

Paul Cunningham mentioned it in his newsletter to constituents Friday.

He said it was in honor of Genna Ayup. The family lives in his Ward and he has known them for years.

Ayup's boyfriend said he accidentally shot her with a Glock handgun while changing the grips, according to police reports.

Police saw a glass of beer near the weapon when they arrived, according to officers' reports. A few days later, detectives recovered the boyfriend's bar tab from the day of the shooting. It included 3 23-ounce beers and a vodka drink, according to police reports.

"If you think that drinking and driving is wrong," Cunningham said, "and you don't think using firearms and drinking is wrong, then you've got to re-evaluate."

The County Attorney's Office dropped charges against the boyfriend because they did not believe they could prove criminal intent beyond a reasonable doubt.

Ayup's sister, Sarah Ayup, has been talking to Cunningham and supports a change in the law.

"Whether it was an accident or not, he should have paid the consequences," Sarah Ayup said, "and he's not. And that's what we want to happen."

There is no official bill yet. Cunningham has been talking to State Representatives in his district. He does not plan on doing anything on the City level.

People who use guns in self-defense would not be subject to the test, according to Cunningham.

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