Answer:  This question allows us to explore some interesting issues relative to concealed carry and schools.  First, I need to help make sure that everyone understands that none of the advice I give is ‘legal advice’.  Since I am not an attorney, I can only give you my informed opinion.

The answer to your question “Can a school employee and or administrator carry a gun in a school vehicle?” depends on a variety of factors.

First, under the Arizona Revised Statutes 13-3102 (12.) you cannot possess a deadly weapon on school grounds.  The only exceptions to this are:

1.  If the firearm is not loaded and is carried within a means of transportation under the control of an adult and if the adult leaves the means of transportation, the firearm is not visible from outside the vehicle and the vehicle is locked.

2.  Firearms use on the school grounds in a program approved by the school.  Generally this means having ‘written permission’ from the primary administrator of the school in question.

3.  The person in possession of the firearm is a concealed weapons permit holder and is transiting school property to pick up or drop off a passenger.  The concealed weapons permit holder is not permitted to leave the vehicle in possession of the firearm on school property.  The gun must be unloaded and locked inside the vehicle if the permit holder leaves his or her vehicle.

Now, the question becomes, is the school vehicle on school property?  If the school vehicle is being driven somewhere beside school property, it is like any other vehicle and subject to normal laws.  In my view, the fact that it is a school vehicle and is being driven by a school employee is irrelevant from a firearms perspective.  Normal firearm laws apply would apply.  If you drive the school vehicle onto school property, then ARS 13-3102 (12) would apply.

The only other factor to consider would be any administrative rules that have been defined by the school district.  Like any other employer, a school district can implement reasonable policies and procedures to regulate the behavior of their employees.  I would suggest that prior to carrying a firearm in a school vehicle, any school employee or administrator should check to make sure there are no district policies that prohibit such activity.

Answer:  Your AZ CCW permit and Washington Driver License work just fine.  Arizona only requires that you be a legal US resident to receive a permit, assuming you meet all other qualifications.  We have lots of folks that are part-time residents or absentee owners of property in Arizona.  We even have a nickname for some of them…”Snow Birds”.

Seriously, since Arizona only requires that you be a legal resident of the US.  Any combination of government issued ID to establish identity and your Arizona CCW permit works fine.  A few states restrict their permit to residents only, but not Arizona.

Answer:  Unfortunately yes, the transfer still must be done via FFL.  Federal law and BATF regulations do not provide for any exceptions for transfer of a firearm between family members, unless that transfer is occuring after the death of an immediate family member.  For example, if your Grandfather died and wanted you to have one of his firearms after his death, the transfer could occur without any FFL involvement.  Immediate family transfer is generally considered to be Grandparent/Parent to Grandchild/Child.  Another other transfer would have to be via FFL.

Since your Dad is a California resident and you are an Arizona resident, he must transfer the firearm to you through an FFL.  The thought process behind the law is that the receiver must be legally permitted to own a firearm in his/her state of residence.  The only way the Feds can insure that is via an FFL transfer.  I realize that this is a huge pain, but then Federal law and the BATF don’t generally want to facilitate interstate transfer of firearm between individuals.

Answer:  Yes, under the circumstances you describe, a passenger in your vehicle that has immediate and unrestricted access to a concealed firearm in the vehicle could be charged with possession of a concealed weapon.

My advice would be to have some way of securing the firearm if you need to leave the vehicle.  I have a locking box in my own vehicle for this purpose since I might leave my daughter in the car while I run into a store.  I also encouraged my wife to get her CCW to prevent situations exactly like this from happening.

In addition, as a CCW permit holder, it is your responsibility to insure that unauthorized persons do not have access to your firearm.  Should this person gain access to your firearm and use it to harm themselves or someone else, you could also leave yourself open to charges of criminal negligence or in the event someone is killed, you could even be charged with manslaughter.

My advice is that if you can’t take your firearm with you when you leave your vehicle, lock it up.  Better safe than sorry…

“So if a young man is walking with friends, and a large group of 20 drunk young men approach him calling him on, he is not permitted to do anything to protect himself even though he is in fear of getting the life beat out of him? I’ll be very interested in the true legal answer to my question please.”

Overall, the young man is in a pretty difficult spot.  He cannot use force to defend himself until one or more of the group of drunks attempts to assault him or use some type of force against him.  Arizona law does not permit any use of force against verbal threats or someone ‘calling him on’.  In fact, this is generally an attempt by the group to ‘provoke’ him.

As difficult as it is to do, the best thing he can attempt to do is either leave the scene or try and de-escalate.  In my experience, this is usually the best course of action.  The fact that he has several friends with him provides him with multiple witnesses if they do attempt to assault him.  The group of men calling him out probably know this too and this is why they are attempting to get him to ’start something’.

For your reference, I have provided the language of the appropriate statute from the Arizona Revised Statutes below:

13-404. Justification; self-defense

A. Except as provided in subsection B of this section, a person is justified in threatening or using physical force against another when and to the extent a reasonable person would believe that physical force is immediately necessary to protect himself against the other’s use or attempted use of unlawful physical force.

B. The threat or use of physical force against another is not justified:

1. In response to verbal provocation alone; or

2. To resist an arrest that the person knows or should know is being made by a peace officer or by a person acting in a peace officer’s presence and at his direction, whether the arrest is lawful or unlawful, unless the physical force used by the peace officer exceeds that allowed by law; or

3. If the person provoked the other’s use or attempted use of unlawful physical force, unless:

(a) The person withdraws from the encounter or clearly communicates to the other his intent to do so reasonably believing he cannot safely withdraw from the encounter; and

(b) The other nevertheless continues or attempts to use unlawful physical force against the person.

There is also a legal concept known as ‘disparity of force’ that states that use of force might be justified in the face of superior numbers, but again this is only if there is a ‘credible threat’ of injury.  Verbal taunts do not constitute a credible threat under Arizona law.

In terms of your request for  a true ‘legal answer’, since I am not an attorney, I can’t give you that, but I suspect that you might get a very similar answer if you asked an attorney familiar with criminal law in Arizona.

Answer:  Actually the Arizona CCW is not restricted to handguns only.  It deals with any deadly weapon that is not on the prohibited weapons list.  It covers handguns, rifles, shotguns and knives with a blade length of 4 inches or greater, just to name a few.  Most people don’t think of rifles and shotguns as ‘concealed weapons’ as they are generally difficult to conceal due to their size.  In a legal configuration, a long gun (either rifle or shotgun) must have a length overall of at least 26 inches.  This will certain limit the firearm’s concealability.

To answer the question directly, it is perfectly legal to conceal a loaded rifle in a backpack as long as the rifle meets the legal standards for length and the possessor of a firearm has an Arizona CCW permit.

Answer:  My first comment would be that since most carports are not enclosed structures, a burglary charge would be nearly impossible to make stick.  In my opinion, walking through a carport is NOT attempted burglary.  If you read a legal definition of burglary, it generally involved illegally entering a home or place of business, which would normally be an enclosed structure.

Regarding whether or not it is trespassing, my answer would be yes, it could be considered trespassing.  The primary issue is did you have reasonable notice that the property was ‘posted for no trespassing’.  Here’s what I mean by that.  If there was a sign placed anywhere on the property that gave public notice that the property in question did not allow trespassing, then anyone venturing on to that property is violating the law.  Generally such signs say something like “POSTED - No Trespassing”.

If there was not a sign and you entered someone’s property, like walking through their yard or carport and they told you to leave, if you did not immediately leave, you would also be guilty of trespassing.  The key element here is the notice given.  There needs to be some notice given either by a sign or a verbal statement in this case.

Since the person in question clearly does not want you walking through their property and has given you notice of this, if you were to walk through the carport again and the owner caught you, he or she could file a trespassing complaint with the police.

Personally, I would give this particular individual’s property a wide berth…

Answer:  Before I answer the question, let me reset the stage for readers that might not be familiar with my previous post.  In order to use any type of force in self defense, a person must be under a credible threat of force or a perpetrator must either use force or attempt to use force against you.  Words alone, no matter how nasty, provocative or threatening are not ever a justification for the use of force.

The level of force you can use against another must be reasonable and measured based on the circumstances of the threat.  The purpose of your use of force is to stop the threat or use of force against you.  Once the threat has ended, your use of force must end as well.  If you continue to use force in the absence of a threat, you run the risk of becoming the ‘aggressor’ and potentially turning the tables against yourself.

There are also many factors that can enter into the use of force equation.  These things generally fall under a concept called ‘Disparity of Force’.  Some of the factors that enter into a ‘disparity of force’ situation can include:

• Age - if there is a substantial age different between the victim and the perpetrator, additional force may be appropriate to provide a force multiplier to the disadvantaged person.  For example, a man in his 60’s might need to use additional force to effectively eliminate a threat from another man in his 30’s.
• Numbers - if there are multiple perpetrators that are threatening or using force against a single individual, then that individual might need to use an enhanced level of force to end the threat.
• Physical Disability - if the person being threatened is disabled to the extent that they cannot run away or effectively defend themselves against a threat, again, additional force may be appropriate to eliminate the threat.
• Size - if there is a significant size difference between a person being threatened and the person doing the threatening, that might be justification for using a higher level of force to end the threat.
• Sex - if a woman is being attacked by a man, regardless of the size or age of either party, the law generally permits a woman to use an enhanced level of force to defend herself, up to and including lethal force,  if she is in reasonable fear of sexual assault or serious injury.

Disparity of force issues are not limited to these factors alone.  Many other factors or combination of factors may come into play in the court making a determination of whether or not a particular use of force was justified or not.  You must understand that there is no ‘bright line’ here.  This is a gray area where the factors involved will be considered by a judge or jury in their determination of whether your actions were ‘reasonable’ in light of the circumstances and were appropriate to the level of threat experienced.

Now, to specifically answer your question.  If someone grabs you without your permission, you are being assaulted.  Simple assault in Arizona is defined as:

1. Intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causing any physical injury to another person; or
2. Intentionally placing another person in reasonable apprehension of imminent physical injury; or
3. Knowingly touching another person with the intent to injure, insult or provoke such person.

If someone commits assault under the conditions described under item 1, they are committing a Class 1 Misdemeanor which is punishable by a jail term of 6 months and a fine of up to $2,500.

If someone commits assault under the conditions described under item 2, they are committing a Class 2 Misdemeanor which is punishable by a jail term of 4 months and a fine of up to $750.

If someone commits assault under the conditions described under item 3, they are committing a Class 3 Misdemeanor which is punishable by a jail term of 30 days and a fine of up to $500.

You do have the right to defend yourself using a threat of force or physical force if necessary, but nothing you described would allow you to use anything greater than physical force unless you believed that you were in danger of serious injury, permanent disabling injury or death.  My guess is that people that do as you described are trying to intimidate you or are bullies that enjoy making other people afraid.

If you are not trained in some type of self-defense skill, any resistance on your part is likely to result in escalation which could result in potentially much more serious consequences for you.  You might want to consider carrying some non-lethal defensive device.  My choice would probably be a high quality pepper spray from either Fox Labs or ASP.  They make key chain devices that when deployed, can make it very unpleasant for your assailants.  Pepper spray will effectively disable an attacker for 30-45 minutes, giving you plenty of time to get to safety and call 911.

My first recommendation is to not put yourself in the situation if you can avoid it.  If possible, just remove yourself from the vicinity.  Get in your car and drive away or if you are on foot, walk or even run away if necessary.  I can’t begin to tell you the number of bad situations that result from men letting their testosterone dictate their actions in a confrontation.  You can also try to control your anger and de-escalate the situation.  I have used this technique with great success myself many times.

If you cannot leave and cannot de-escalate, do anything you can to attract the attention of any onlookers or witnesses.  Scream or call for help and get on your cell phone and call 911.  Tell them to send the police immediately and give your location.  If your attackers are bullies, they will probably not hang around for long.  If they don’t leave and continue to press the attack, this might be the time to consider using your pepper spray on them.

If they do attempt to harm you in any way and you know who they are, you should call the police and press assault charges.

One final note:  If at anytime you feel that you are in real danger of being seriously injured or killed, or the perpetrators have taken up a weapon or ‘dangerous instruments’ like a stick, bat, rock, bottle or anything similar, the simple assault has moved to an aggravated assault which is a felony.  At this point, unless you are armed, your primary objective should be to get away at all costs.  Even if you are injured while getting away, it is better than trying to fight your way out and be more seriously injured or killed.  Get to a place with lots of people and call 911.

Answer:  Unfortunately, despite your credentials, you cannot bypass the training requirement for an Arizona CCW permit.

In Arizona, the only provisions that allow for training exemptions for issuance of an Arizona CCW permit are covered by ARS 13-3112 (e)(2) which allows an exemption to the 8 hour course for the following: (1) a person who is an active duty Arizona peace officer standards and training (AZPOST) certified or federally credentialed peace officer; or who is honorably retired as a federal, state or local peace officer with a minimum of 10 years service; (2) a person who is an active duty county detention officer and who has been weapons certified by the officer’s employing agency; or (3) a person who is issued a Law Enforcement Officer’s Safety Act (LEOSA) Certificate of Firearms Proficiency pursuant to ARS 13-3112(x).

While a portion of the class would likely be a rehash of training you have already received as part of your Reserve Officer training, there are some other parts of the class that deal specifically with Arizona law that could potentially be helpful if you plan to carry a concealed firearm in Arizona.

By law, any Arizona CCW permit training must take place within Arizona.  Once you are actually issued a permit, there is no refresher training required and you can renew by mail, but you will need to take the class to get your initial permit.

APDI offers courses monthly in the Phoenix area.  You can find all the details at:  http://www.armedpersonaldefense.com

Question: When shipping firearms to another Arizona resident do I have to send it to an FFL or can I ship it directly to the other resident? I assume since I can sell it without any paper work to another resident I can just ship it to him but cannot find any information on the subject.

Answer:  You can only transfer firearms between Arizona residents in a ‘face to face’ transaction.  You need to be able to inspect the I.D. of the person you are selling the firearm to so that you can insure a ‘legal’ transfer of the firearm.  The buyer must be at least 18 years old for either a long gun or a handgun.  They should also certify in writing that they are not a ‘prohibited possessor’ and can legally possess a firearm in Arizona.

I always recommend keeping a ‘Bill of Sale’ that includes the name and address of both the buyer and the seller and a complete description of the firearm being transferred, including the serial number.  This is also a great place to have language certifying that the buyer can legally own a firearm in Arizona.  The buyer should sign and date the document.

The ‘Bill of Sale’ gives you a permanent record of the transaction and can be a huge time saver if the firearm you sold is ever stolen or used in a crime and the police come asking questions…

If you can’t do a ‘face to face’ transfer, or if you are selling a firearm to a buyer that lives out of state, you need to ship the firearm to an FFL near where your buyer resides.  Usually the FFL charges a small fee to process the paperwork.  You should contact the FFL prior to shipping to them for instructions on how to ship the firearm to them.  

You cannot ship firearms via US Mail.  You will need to use either FedEx or UPS.  I’d recommend that you ship it overnight as their is less chance of someone ‘diverting’ the shipment if they suspect the contents (yes, valuable items sometimes get pilfered in transit).  I would also recommend that you insure the package for the replacement value of the item being shipped.  By the way, you should not ship any ammo with the firearm.

Once it arrives at the other end, the FFL will contact your buyer.  When they come in to pick up the gun, the buyer will need to complete ATF Form 4473 (Firearm Transfer Record) which will remain on file with the FFL.  They will also have to present government issued photo ID and a valid Arizona CCW permit or the dealer will have to run a background check prior to releasing the firearm to your buyer.  Assuming they have a CCW permit or a clear background check they will be good to go.  

You might want to clarify who pays the FFL transfer fee in advance so there is no confusion when it comes time to make the transfer.

The process I have described is pretty typical.  Different FFLs may work slightly differently.  Some may charge a fee of $25-$50 while others may charge less.  Some FFLs don’t do private party transfers, so you need to check with them first.

I know this sounds like a bit of a hassle and it is.  The rules are in place to make sure that people that shouldn’t have guns don’t get them.  You can also see why most people prefer to do a ‘face-to-face’ transfer.  They are much simpler…