ActionScript 3.0 :: Private Variable In Class - Accessing Array?

I have a class that creates an array from a config xml file. I set a private variable in that class and use a getter in other classes to access the array. The routine that uses the array does the following:
- Call the getter and assign the returned value to a local (private) variable tmpArray.  the getter is a simple return() using a value that is established in the constructor.
- Uses a for loop to itterate over the contents
- Uses array.shift() to pop the item in tmpArray

The next time I run the routine, the contents of the array is empty. I'm using the same getter. I implemented the getter when I tried to manage both arrays in the same class figuring that as long as the original array was private (i also tried static), that the value would not change. I have since worked around the problem by moving the routine that fills up the original value from the constructor to the getter. So, consider the following code:

import flash.events.Event;
btn.addEventListener("click", btnHandler);
var myArray = new Array();
var myTmpArray = new Array()
myArray = ["one", "two", "three"];
myTmpArray = myArray;
function btnHandler(evt:Event) {
[Code] .....

If I create a variable myVar and set it to 1 then set myOtherVar = myVar, the both equal the same value. If I change the value of myOtherVar, myVar is not affected. But using the shift() method changes both the original and the copied array.