GILBERT, Ariz. — As lawmakers consider banning brass knuckles in Arizona, the weapon is being packaged and branded as a belt buckle in some stores.
The stores selling the brass knuckles are not breaking the law as the weapon is currently legal in the state.
Brass knuckles have become the subject of recent attention amidst teen violence investigations, primarily in the East Valley, where several suspects used brass knuckles on their victims.
A wide variety of stores, from specialty shops to vape shops, sell the weapon in a variety of sizes and colors. Some stores keep them in cases while others keep them behind the counter. In some cases, the box packaging brass knuckles refers to them as a "heavy duty belt buckle."
12News saw them priced between $10 and $30. Some come with a screw to turn the brass knuckles into an accessory.
"If you can insert your your fingers through so that the metal is on the top of your knuckles, then regardless of whether there's a belt attached to it, or chain as a necklace, it's brass knuckles. Just like, you know, putting a chain around a gun doesn't mean it's not a gun," said State Sen. John Kavanagh (R).
Republican State Senator John Kavanagh is the sponsor of a bill that would ban brass knuckles in Arizona. The legislation comes after a teenage victim in the East Valley came forward and shared his story about being assaulted by a suspect using brass knuckles.
"To be clear, if your bill were to pass, would brass knuckles branded as belt buckles also be banned?” asked 12News Reporter Bianca Buono.
“Yes, so long as you can use them as brass knuckles by inserting your fingers through them and covering your knuckles, they would be brass knuckles," Kavanagh said.
RELATED: Teen who was assaulted with brass knuckles speaks at Arizona hearing about bill to ban the weapon
Gilbert PD Chief Michael Soelberg, whose department has investigated multiple cases involving teens or young adults using the weapon, has signed on in support of the bill.
He weighed in on the belt branding at a press conference on Thursday.
“It’s a free market, you know, weapons like that, brass knuckles, whether they’re part of a belt buckle or they’re sold as brass knuckles, the market bears that out as what they want to sell. My stance to that, as we’ve talked about before, banning those, we are in support of that bill," Soelberg said.
Some lawmakers have expressed concerns over the bill and have suggested background checks instead of a ban, or banning brass knuckles for minors. Some suspects who used brass knuckles in attacks in the East Valley were 18 or older.
The bill passed unanimously out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, but Kavanagh said he needs a majority to get the bill to the next step and he's not sure if he has that yet. He said he will likely know if he can get it within the next week.
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