ARIZONA CITIZENS DEFENSE LEAGUE

AzCDL Accomplishments

AzCDL is the ONLY civil liberties organization to get pro-rights bills introduced in every Legislative session we have been involved in!

AzCDL was instrumental in the introduction and/or passage of the legislation listed below.  

The Right to Keep and Bear Arms

• Constitutional Carry - Elimination of the prohibition and penalties for law-abiding adults who carry a  weapon discreetly without first seeking written permission from the government via a “permit .”
• Expanding the places where a weapon can be carried without a CCW permit in a vehicle to include a “map pocket.” (superseded by Constitutional Carry law).
• Prohibiting the Governor  from confiscating lawfully held firearms during a state of emergency.
• Strengthened state preemption of firearms and knife laws.
• Requiring operators of public (i.e., state and local government) establishments or events that prohibit weapons to provide temporary and secure storage that is readily accessible on entry and permits immediate retrieval upon exit.
• Prohibiting the courts from ordering the forfeiture of a firearm when a person is convicted of carrying in a public establishment where weapons are prohibited.
• Prohibiting political subdivisions (counties, cities, towns, etc.) from requiring or maintaining de facto registration records of firearms, or their owners, related to the temporary storage process.
• Preventing private or public employers, property owners, and others from banning  firearms in a locked vehicle.
• Prohibiting firearms seized by law enforcement from being scrapped.  They must now be sold to authorized dealers.
• Expansion of the definition of Hunter Harassment.

Self Defense

• Restoration of “innocent until proven guilty” in self-defense situations that was taken away in 1997.
• Castle Doctrine (stand your ground) strengthened.
• Clarification that a person has no duty to retreat in any place they have a right to be.
• Establishment of a justification for the defensive display of a firearm.
• Adding the presumption, in certain civil actions, that a victim acted reasonably when using physical or deadly force.

Concealed Weapon (CCW) Permits

• 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.
• Expansion of training experiences that qualify for a CCW permit.
• 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 civil penalty.
• 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.
• Preventing law enforcement from confiscating a firearm from someone with a suspended permit if it is otherwise lawfully possessed.

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.

• 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 civilian border watchers 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.
• Requiring gun owners to verify a buyer’s citizenship when selling a gun privately.
• Making  it a crime to “store or keep any loaded firearm on any premises 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.