Arizona Pro Gun Rights Bills Move Out Of Committee & Anti Gun Rights Bills Introduced

Arizona Pro Gun Rights Bills Move Out Of Committee & Anti Gun Rights Bills Introduced

Arizona Citizens Defense League
Arizona Citizens Defense League

Catalina, AZ –-(Ammoland.com)- Two Senate committees met on Monday, February 7, 2011. Pro-rights bills were on their agendas and AzCDL’s representatives were watching and ready to testify.

The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing was dominated by an immigration bill that took hours to debate. Finally, in the early evening, the debate shifted to bills we had been waiting all day for.

SB 1201, the AzCDL-requested “omnibus” bill passed out of committee with amendments by a 6 to 2 vote, with Senators Gallardo and Sinema voting against it. The amendment dealt with issues unrelated to the central focus of the bill. SB 1201 would prevent the banning of firearms in “Public Buildings” (i.e., government owned or operated buildings and vehicles) and “Public Events” (i.e. events open to the public and licensed by the government) unless a number of conditions are met (metal detectors, armed guards, etc.) that ensure that an armed person cannot enter undetected. SB 1201 also allows for injunctive relief if Public Establishments or Public Events don’t obey the law, among other proposed changes.

SB 1469, which would strengthen the statutes regarding the justification of the use of force, was “held” and will probably appear on a future committee agenda.

SCR 1020, the AzCDL-requested proposed Constitutional Amendment that would protect crime victims from law suits by those who harm them, passed out of committee by a 6 to 1 vote, with Senator Sinema voting “No” and Senator Gallardo not voting.

Meanwhile, over in the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Transportation …

SB 1334, which would prohibit political subdivisions from enacting any ordinance or regulation limiting the area of a lawful hunting event during open season, passed out of committee by a 4 to 2 vote, with Senators Jack Jackson, Jr. and Olivia Cajero Bedford voting against it.

SB 1335, which would add jackrabbits, raccoons and predatory animals to the list of animals that may be taken at night, was held due to the moratorium on Agency rule making (necessary to implement the bill). It will be added to the budget process.

From here, bills that passed out of committees will be sent to the Rules committee for a final review before being sent to the full Senate for debate in the Committee of the Whole (COW), followed by a Third Read vote by the full Senate . Once bills pass out of the Senate they are sent to the House, where it’s “rinse and repeat” and the process starts all over again.

While pro-rights bills are progressing, the anti-rights forces are doing their best to exploit the January Tucson shooting tragedy by filing bills to punish law-abiding gun owners.

  • HB 2691 – Would require that any person who sells 3 or more “high caliber” firearms to report the sale to the Department of Public Safety. “High caliber” is broadly defined to include almost all firearms.
  • HB 2711 – Would ban magazines with a capacity greater than 10 rounds.
  • SB 1060 – Would make fraudulent (broadly defined) firearms sales, retail and private, a crime of “racketeering.” This bill would effectively eliminate private sales.
  • SB 1586 – Would require NICS background checks run on all firearm sales (including private sales) at any “firearm show” (broadly defined to include almost any gathering where firearms might be sold).
  • SB 1587 – Would add community colleges and universities to the definition of “school” in ARS 13-3102.L.4, expanding the places where weapons are prohibited. Currently a “school” is K-12.
  • SB 1588 – Would make it a crime to enter “any state building, including the House of Representatives wing and the Senate wing of the State Capitol building, carrying a deadly weapon.”

If you value your rights, this is not the time to sit on the sidelines. AzCDL’s success is dependent on the involvement of our membership. If you not a member – Join today! ! www.azcdl.org/html/join_us_.html .

A list of the firearms and self-defense related bills, along with links, that AzCDL is monitoring can be found at our website: www.azcdl.org/html/2011_bills.html .

Stay tuned! When critical legislation moves, we will notify you via these News Alerts.

You can also follow AzCDL on Facebook: www.tinyurl.com/FacebookAzCDL , and during the legislative session, we’ll send out updates via Twitter: www.twitter.com/AzCDL_Alerts .

AzCDL’s Political Action Committee (PAC) is also on Facebook: www.tinyurl.com/FacebookAzCDLPAC .

About:
AzCDL believes that the emphasis of gun laws should be on criminal misuse and that law-abiding citizens should be able to own and carry firearms unaffected by unnecessary laws or regulations. AzCDL was founded by a group of local activists who recognized that a sustained, coordinated, statewide effort was critical to protecting and expanding the rights of law-abiding gun owners. As a like-minded coalition of activists, the AzCDL founders were instrumental in the successful passage of the first major improvement to Arizona’s CCW (concealed carry) laws since they were instituted in 1994. Visit: www.azcdl.org