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AzCDL Accomplishments
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AzCDL is the ONLY civil rights organization to get pro-rights bills introduced in every Legislative session (4 and counting) we have been involved in!
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AzCDL was instrumental in the introduction and/or passage of the legislation listed below.
For our efforts in 2006, we were recognized as Grassroots Organization of the Year
at the Gun Rights Policy Conference by CCRKBA.
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- The Governor, or Adjutant general, are prohibited from confiscating lawfully held firearms during a state of emergency.
- Restoration of “innocent until proven guilty” in self-defense situations that was taken away in 1997.
- “Castle Doctrine” (stand your ground) strengthened.
- Concealed Weapons (CCW) Improvements:
- Elimination of the fingerprint and training requirements for CCW permit renewals.
- Reduction of the training requirement for initial CCW permits from 16 hours to 8 hours.
- Near universal recognition, by Arizona, of concealed weapon/handgun permits held by residents of other states.
- Reduction of the penalty for not having your CCW permit in your possession from a Class 2 Misdemeanor to a Petty Offense.
- Ability to renew expired permits without repeating the training.
- With adequate documentation, proof of training is good for 5 years.
- Codified that training can be conducted by NRA Instructors.
- A person with an expunged felony, or who has had their rights restored, may obtain a concealed weapons permit
- Requiring uniform compliance with the Firearms Preemption Law, passed in 2000, when operators of public (i.e., state and local government) establishments or events decide to prohibit firearms. The operator is required to provide temporary and secure storage that is readily accessible on entry and permits immediate retrieval upon exit.
- Expanding the places where a weapon can be carried without a CCW permit in a vehicle to include a “map pocket.”
- Strengthening firearms preemption with language that specifically limits to the Legislature the ability to “enact or implement any law, rule or ordinance relating to the possession or storage of firearms other than as provided by statute.”
- Adding the presumption, in certain civil action, that a victim acted reasonably when using physical or deadly force.
- Expansion of the definition of Hunter Harassment.
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Governor Vetoes
We do not view vetoes by the governor as failures. Getting bills introduced, cosponsored, voted out of committee, approved by both legislative bodies, and getting them to the Governor’s desk is 99% of the work. The following are pro-rights bills that we championed, but were vetoed.
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- Justification of the use of Defensive Display to diffuse a threat.
- Redefinition of “open” carry” that has been clouded by head scratching Appellate Court decisions since 1994.
- Clarification that people are free to carry concealed without a permit on property they own, lease or rent, including in common areas of that property.
- Reduction of the penalty for carrying concealed without a permit from a Class 1 Misdemeanor to a Petty Offense, unless the violation occurred in the commission of, or attempted commission of, a serious or violent crime.
- Clarification that the 2006 Castle Doctrine/Burden of Proof legislation applied to all cases pending at the time it was signed by the Governor.
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Stopping Bad Bills
AzCDL is always on the lookout for legislation that adversely affects our rights. The following are some of the really bad, anti-rights, legislative proposals that we defeated.
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- A back-door attempt to ban ammunition sales by requiring the encoding of unique serial numbers on every individual bullet and casing. Ammunition sales would require recordation (registration) of the purchaser and a 1/2 cent tax would be assessed on every round of ammunition sold. Possession of non-encoded ammunition would be illegal.
- An attempt to outlaw the Minutemen by classifying gun owners as terrorists. Under the proposed bill, you would be a terrorist if you are armed and:
- Come to the aid of someone being attacked.
- Are patrolling with your Neighborhood Watch group.
- Observe criminal activity and report it to law enforcement.
- Making it a crime to “store or keep any loaded firearm on any premise under the person’s control if the person knows or reasonably should know that a minor is likely to gain access...”
- An almost unlimited expansion of the definition of the “secure” area at airports where guns are banned.
- Establishment of a 75 foot perimeter around polling places where weapons are prohibited.
- Increasing the penalty for possession of a firearm on school grounds to a Class 5 Felony.
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