Question: In light of current uproar about SB 1270, I thought it appropriate to check current ARS statutes.  Maybe I am missing something, but at http://www.azleg.gov/ArizonaRevisedStatutes.asp (Sections 13-3102 and 13-3112) I see nothing regarding the ban on concealed carry in establishments that sell on premises liquor.  Was there a change I missed?  Or is the legislature’s web site in error?

Answer:  No, you didn’t miss anything and no, the law hasn’t changed.  The Arizona statutes that deal with carrying a firearm in a place that serves alcohol simply is not part of Section 13 of the Arizona Revised Statutes.

The law relating to the prohibition of firearms in establishments that serve alcohol is in Section 4-244 entitled “Unlawful Acts”.  Under paragraph 29, the law states:  “It is unlawful for any person other than a peace officer, the licensee or an employee of the licensee acting with the permission of the licensee to be in possession of a firearm while on the licensed premises of an on-sale retailer knowing such possession is prohibited. This paragraph shall not be construed to include a situation in which a person is on licensed premises for a limited time in order to seek emergency aid and such person does not buy, receive, consume or possess spirituous liquor. This paragraph shall not apply to hotel or motel guest room accommodations nor to the exhibition or display of a firearm in conjunction with a meeting, show, class or similar event.”

In paragraph 30 the law goes on to say:  “It is unlawful for a licensee or employee to knowingly permit a person in possession of a firearm other than a peace officer, the licensee or an employee of the licensee acting with the permission of the licensee to remain on the licensed premises or to serve, sell or furnish spirituous liquor to a person in possession of a firearm while on the licensed premises of an on-sale retailer. This paragraph shall not apply to hotel or motel guest room accommodations nor to the exhibition or display of a firearm in conjunction with a meeting, show, class or similar event. It shall be a defense to action under this paragraph if the licensee or employee requested assistance of a peace officer to remove such person.”

So, it is not only illegal for you to have the firearm in your possession at any establishment with an “on premises” alcohol license.  It is also illegal for the owner or employee of such an establishment to allow you to remain there if they know you are armed.

Violation of either of the provisions above is a Class 2 Misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to 4 months in jail, a fine of up to $750 for an individual or a fine of up to $10,000 for a business.

Question: Hello, I just received my CCW permit after 52 days of waiting. (very excited) I currently work part-time at a church that has its own educational facilities and is not part of a public school building and the education rooms are for religious education of children from k-12.  I was wondering if private schooling is different than public schooling in regards to the allowance of CCW’s.  On a side-note I was given permission by the pastor and the parish manager to concealed carry.  But I would just like as much information as possible before I make my choice.  Thanks for everything!

Answer:  Congrats on getting your AZ CCW.  It is a lengthly process right now due to overwhelming response to the program since the beginning of November 2008.  Regarding carrying concealed on school grounds, state law does not permit you to carry a firearm on a school campus without the permission of the chief administrator of the school.  It does not matter if the school is public, private or parochial.  I would recommend that you get the permission in writing to avoid any confusion with other school staff on whether you are allowed to carry or not.

If you are concerned about carrying on church property when school is not in session, you should be fine, especially since you have the permission of the pastor and parish manager.

If you do carry on school property during school hours, you should be very diligent that your firearm stays concealed and is not observed by any students.  Additionally, you should take special care to insure that your firearm remains under your personal control and that no unauthorized person has access to it.

Question: I am a Canadian “snowbird”.  I live in Arizona for about 5 months out of the year but I am a Canadian citizen - not an American citizen.  I do not have a green card.  Can I legally purchase a hand gun in Arizona and leave it in my Arizona condo when I return to Canada?

Answer: Unfortunately, only resident aliens and US citizens are allowed to purchase firearms.  Since you are here most likely here on a non-resident visa, you cannot legally purchase or possess a firearm in the United States, which would also include Arizona.  Possession of a firearm by a non-resident alien is a felony crime.  It is also a felony for anyone to provide you with a firearm by either giving it to you or selling it to you.

Should you decide to visit a shooting range that rents firearms, you are OK as you are just using a firearm owned by another while you are at the range.

Sorry I don’t have better news for you.

Question:  If I have a CCW permit for Nevada and move to Arizona, is my NV CCW permit good there?  If not, what do I need to do?

Answer: Arizona recognizes out-of-state concealed carry permits for non-residents visiting Arizona.  Should you decide to move to Arizona and become an Arizona resident, you cannot legally carry concealed on an out-of-state permit.  Once you become an Arizona resident (get an AZ license plate and drivers license), you will need to get an Arizona CCW permit.  You can take an 8 hour course from any approved AZ CCW instructor in the state and submit your application.

If you are moving to the Phoenix area, check us out at:  http://www.armedpersonaldefense.com

Question:  I recently purchased a Springfield Armory 1911 Mil Spec. My intended use for it is the defense of my family while on remote desert trips. I took your excellent CCW class and I’m very experienced in gun safety, but this is my first 1911.  The internet blogs are full of conflicting opinions about the safest way to holster-carry a .45 of this type. The “Lock and Load” (hammer at full cock) faction point out that there are trigger, grip and manual safeties so this is plenty safe. Opponents of ‘Lock and Load” recommend a full magazine below an empty chamber, saying that there’s usually plenty of time to work the slide to arm the pistol. I would very much appreciate your comments about this.

Answer: If you are planning on carrying a 1911 style pistol, it can be safely carried in “cocked and locked” or what is typically referred to as “Condition 1″.  There are a couple of things to consider.

First you should insure that your holster completely covers the trigger and retains the gun well.

Second, you will need to make sure that you practice disengaging the thumb safety as you draw so that it will be automatic.  The biggest issue I see for 1911 shooters is that they don’t practice disengaging the safety which will most likely cause them to forget to disengage it under stress.  This can obviously have catastrophic consequences in a potential gunfight situation.

Third, despite what some might say, in my experience you will absolutely not have time to work the slide and arm the pistol.  It is very frustrating for me to find these ‘arm chair firearms experts’ telling people stuff that could literally get them killed.  When confronted with a lethal force situation, you will literally have a couple of seconds to reach.  When you consider that even practiced shooters require 1.5 - 2 seconds to get their gun out of the holster and on target, having to rack the slide and chamber a round will add .5 seconds to the draw at a minimum.  Now you are talking about a reaction time of 2-3 seconds to get your gun into play.  By that time, you may find that the gunfight is over because the bad guy had the advantage of starting first.  Remember, you are reacting to some sort of ‘triggering event’ that caused you to reach for your gun.  You can also lose the tactical advantage as racking the slide will make noise.  If your potential adversary is not yet aware of you, they likely will be after you rack your slide.  The sound is pretty unmistakable.

Carrying “cocked and locked” is definitely the way to go in my opinion.

Question:  If you were a previous CCW holder (AZ) and there is a lapse (many years) do you go through the whole process again?  For example, the fingerprint card.  It should still be on file with DPS correct?  Do you need to do a new card?  Thanks.

Answer: Unfortunately, the way the process works, you need to retake the training and reapply for your AZ CCW permit.  This would include submitting a new fingerprint card.  Under AZ DPS Administrative Rules, you can apply for permit renewal anytime within 90 days of your permit’s expiration date.  If you have not submitted a renewal application after having been expired for 60 days, your information is purged from the DPS database.  Arizona law permits you to submit proof of any CCW training taken within the last 5 years to satisfy the training requirement.  You also must submit a fingerprint card and an application fee of $60 payable to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.  The fee must be in certified funds (bank certified check or money order).  Personal checks are not accepted.

After your application is received, your fingerprints are submitted to the FBI and you will undergo a criminal background check.  If the results of the background check show that you have a clear criminal background, your application will be processed and your permit will be issued.  Right now, the permit issuance process is taking approximately 8 weeks from the time they receive your application.

More Americans Not Supportive of New Laws

A number of recent polls show Americans are growing increasingly less supportive of new regulations to restrict firearms.  The Houston Chronicle reports that the shift in public opinion is so strong that a potential ban on so-called “assault weapons”, once backed by 3 in 4 Americans  “now rates barely 1 in 2″.  Frank Newport, the editor-in-chief of the Gallup Poll said “Every bit of data is showing us that Americans are getting more conservative about gun control”.  In a CNN/Opinion Research poll, the change is very apparent.  According to the CNN poll, in 2001, 54% of American favors stricter gun laws.  In 2009, that number has dropped to 39% of Americans favoring gun control.  Think about that.  This would represent a change of 15% in a very short period of time.  This means that ALMOST 60% of Americans are NOT SUPPORTIVE of gun control.

In another poll by ABC News-Washington Post conducted in April 2009, the researchers found that for the first time, a clear majority of Americans, 57 percent, don’t think stricter gun laws would reduce violent crime.  On finding in the poll characterized by pollsters as “a new high and first substantial majority” found that 61% of Americans say that enforcement of existing guns laws would accomplish more than passing new, stricter laws.

For the first time in a Pew Research survey conducted in April 2009, 45 percent of Americans believe it is more important to protect the right of Americans to own guns than it is to control it.  This number is up from 37% percent in the same poll taken only a year ago.  The number of people supporting gun control in this poll has dropped significantly from 58% in 2008 to 49% in 2009.

Each and every one of you should use this information to help people understand that each American’s rights under the Second Amendment are a core value in this country and that people are starting to understand the importance of the preservation of that right to firearms ownership…

Thanks to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the Houston Chronicle, ABC News and Pew Research for providing the information contained in this post…

Question: I sent my application in for my AZ CCW on March 30th 2009.  I called the DPS on May 5th and was told that on that day (May 5th) they were working on applications that they received on March
17th. Working through the math, I would assume that sometime this upcoming week they will finally open my application and begin the process. Providing I submitted a perfect application and there are not
any errors or questions, I should receive my permit by the end of May or the beginning of June.

Let’s assume that since I have never been fingerprinted before and they need a second set of prints or the first set of prints are not legible. I have already waited 50 or so days for them to get to my application. If I need to resubmit something else (second set of fingerprint cards) what happens then? Does the entire wait process start over again and another 60 days will pass before knowing if I am approved for my permit? Can you shed any light as to how this process works?
Answer: I spoke with DPS before answering this question to make sure that I could give you accurate information.  Your math is pretty good.  Today, May 18th, they have started opening AZ CCW applications they received on March 31st and April 1st.  Based on the volume of applications being received, the current processing time for an application is approximately 60 business days.  I would suggest that you wait at least 8 weeks before calling to see if there is a problem with your application since time they spend on the phone answering questions is time they cannot spend processing applications.

If your applications has a deficiency such as illegible fingerprint cards or missing fees, the application is placed in a ’suspense’ file and a letter is sent out noting the deficiency and asking the applicant to submit the missing fee, provide a new fingerprint card or supply whatever else might be missing.  Generally there is a thirty day time limit to submit the missing information.  Once the missing information is received by DPS, the ’suspense’ file is pulled and processed immediately.  The applications do not ‘go to the back of the line’.

In my personal experience, the folks in the CCW Permit Unit at DPS are always helpful and committed to doing the best job possible.  They are also one of the more ‘customer service’ oriented group I’ve worked with.  With the volume of applications being received and the limited resources available it just takes a little longer to get the permits issued now than it did 6 months ago…

Question:  I am in the Air Force and I am stationed and a resident of Alaska.  I am being stationed in Phoenix, Arizona.  I have an Alaska CCW.  I was wondering when I get to Arizona can I keep my Alaska CCW or do I have to become a Arizona resident since I will be living there even if I’m in the military and my state of residence is Alaska?  Does the training course from Alaska which is 12 hours transfer to my application for a Arizona CCW or will I have to do it all over?

Answer:  Since you are in the US Military and are being stationed here as part of your official duties, you are not required to become an Arizona resident.  You can legally carry using your Alaska CCW permit, but you must carry in compliance with Arizona law.  Unfortunately, your training in Alaska does not transfer to Arizona as far as Arizona CCW permit training is concerned.  You might still want to take the Arizona course as it will teach you Arizona law regarding use of force and where you can legally carry your firearm the course is only 8 hours can be found at a reasonable price.

Question:  I am in the military currently  stationed in North Dakota and have a valid North Dakota CCW permit.  Being in the military you do not have to become a resident of whatever state you are stationed in, so I never changed my residency.  I am going to be moving back to AZ which is my home of residence. I have read that if you are a resident of AZ only an AZ permit is legal. Is this 100% true? And if it is, is there any leeway such as a grace period or is my ND permit not valid once I hit the state lines?

Answer: First, I want to thank you for your service to our country and to the American people.  To answer your question, if you have maintained your Arizona residency and still have your Arizona driver license, you will need to get an Arizona permit when you return to the state.  Arizona recognizes non-resident permits from other states but does not recognize an Arizona resident carrying an out-of-state permit.  There is no ‘grace period’.  You will need to take an Arizona permit course once you return.  Right now, the application process takes from 8-10 weeks.  If you plan to be home on leave, I’d probably invest a day and get your class behind you.  Otherwise, when you get back to Arizona, you will need to take the Arizona CCW Permit course.  I hope you’ll consider giving us a call.