A reader recently raised an excellent question. He had read that it was illegal to carry a firearm during a ‘Bow Only’ hunting season. He was concerned that there was an apparent contradiction in Arizona law regarding legal open or concealed carry for self protection and the prohibition of carrying a firearm during a ‘Bow Only’ season as published in the hunting regulations enforced by Arizona Game and Fish. Essentially, he wanted to know if he still had the right to carry for self protection in the field if he was hunting during a “Bow Only” season.

The original game regulations that Game & Fish came out with did prohibit hunters from carrying a firearm during a “Bow Only” season. I believe that the original intent of this regulation was to prevent poaching. While this was well intentioned from a game management point of view, they may not have considered the current reality of life in our Arizona wilderness areas.

In the southern part of the state, the number of armed smugglers moving people or drugs across the border has made things quite dangerous for anyone in the wilderness, but especially so for anyone that is unarmed. In other parts of the state, there have been incidents where hikers and hunters have been threatened by armed individuals when they accidentally wandered into areas being used for the cultivation of illegal drugs.

While the Game & Fish rule still stands, the commission has announced plans to change this provision in the next revision cycle. In the meantime, an “enforcement directive” has been issued that tells the Wildlife Managers not to write tickets for this offense.

One word of caution - I would recommend that the handgun not have a six inch barrel with a scope on it or the Wildlife Manager might question the purpose of the handgun and why it is being carried.

If you want to see the original rule and the vote of the commissioners on the directive you can check out the two links below. On the first link, scroll down about half way and you will see the article on the Archery hunter being able to carry for personal protection. The second link will take you to the minutes where the issuance of the “enforcement directive” occurred.

http://www.azgfd.gov/h_f/highlights/highlights_0602.html

http://www.azgfd.gov/inside_azgfd/documents/120905CommMtgMinutes.pdf

I received a question recently regarding felony arrests and whether or not someone who had been arrested but not convicted could get an Arizona CCW Permit.

If you were arrested for felony charges, but those charges were dropped and you were never convicted of a felony, then you can get a CCW permit in Arizona.

As a result of recent changes to Arizona law, if you were arrested, charged and convicted but the conviction was expunged after completion of your sentence and term of probation or if the conviction was overturned, or if after completing your sentence and term of probation your civil rights, including your right to own a firearm was restored, you can also be issued a concealed weapons permit.

If you were convicted of a felony crime of violence that is considered to be a ‘serious offense’ under ARS 13-604, you cannot be issued an Arizona CCW permit under any circumstances. ARS 13-604 deals with serious crimes, crimes involving violence and repeat offenders.

Can a non-resident of Arizona apply for and receive and Arizona CCW Permit?

Absolutely! In Arizona, non-residents meeting all the requirement for an Arizona CCW Permit will be issued one.

Any applicant for an AZ CCW Permit must meet the following requirements:

1. Must be a United States citizen or permanent resident alien.
2. Must be lawfully present in the United States.
3. Must be at least 21 years of age.
4. Not under indictment or have not been convicted of a felony in the U.S. or elsewhere.
5. Not convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence.
6. Not under court order (i.e. order of protection, harassment, etc.)
7. Not a fugitive from justice.
8. Not a user of or addicted to any controlled substance.
9. Not been dishonorably discharged from the Armed Forces.
10. Have never renounced U.S. citizenship.
11. Do not suffer from mental illness and have not been adjudicated mentally incompetent or committed to a mental institution.
12. Have satisfactorily completed an (8 hour) Certification Course.

First Time Permit:

After completing the 8-hour training course, an application must be submitted to the AZ DPS within one year of course completion. You will also need to submit a fingerprint card. Prior fingerprinting does not matter, as a separate card must be submitted with your application. The application package must include a $60.00 cashier’s check, certified check or money order payable to the Arizona Department of Public Safety (this is non refundable). The permit is valid for 5 years unless suspended or revoked. All training is required to take place within the borders of Arizona.

Permit Renewal:

Complete an application provided by AZ DPS (602.256.6280)
Submit the application and a cashier’s check, certified check or money order for $43 payable to the Arizona Department of Public Safety. They will return the renewed permit by mail. There is no training requirement or fingerprint requirement.
All permits can be renewed 90 days prior to the expiration date and up to 60 days after the expiration date. If more than 60 days after the expiration date, the applicant must take the original 8 hour course again.

First time and renewal concealed weapon permit applications are processed by Department of Public Safety Criminal Records Specialists. The application data is entered into the AZ DPS CCW database.

Background criminal history checks are performed utilizing several systems:

• Arizona Criminal Justice Information System (ACJIS)
• National Crime Information Center (NCIC)
• Arizona Crime information Center (ACIC)
• National Instant Background Check System (NICS)
• Interstate Identification Index (III)
• Automatic Fingerprint Information System (AFIS)
• Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI)

DPS policy is to deny a concealed weapon permit to an applicant due to any disqualifier in accordance to U.S. Federal (18 U.S.C. § 922) and Arizona State (ARS §13-3112).

If no disqualifying criminal history record is found, the concealed weapon permit is issued contingent on the FBI background check based on the submitted fingerprint.

AZ CCW Permit Disqualifiers

Concealed weapon permits shall not be issued if the application or background check on an applicant reveals any of the following disqualifiers under the aforementioned statutes:

1. Under indictment or been convicted, of felony or crime punishable by imprisonment exceeding 1 year.
2. A fugitive from justice (No active wants or warrants).
3. A user of or addicted to any controlled substance.
4. Adjudicated mentally defective or been committed to a mental institution.
5. An illegal alien or unlawfully in the U.S.
6. Dishonorably discharged from the Armed Forces.
7. Renounced U.S. citizenship.
8. Misdemeanor domestic violence convictions.
9. Is under court order (i.e., for qualifiers order of protection, harassment, etc.)

I recently received a question regarding any recent changes in the law regarding concealed carry in establishments that serve alcohol.

Unfortunately, the law has not changed. It is absolutely still illegal to carry a firearm in any establishment that serves alcohol for consumption on the premises. The proposed legislation to allow this has not been passed. It seems like this gets introduced in each legislative session, but our representatives have not been able to construct a version of this law that will satisfy our Governor.

Some seem to have difficulty finding the appropriate statutes regarding alcohol and concealed carry. Most of the time it is because people look in Arizona Revised Statutes Title 13 which deals with criminal offenses.

The appropriate reference in the Arizona Revised Statutes Title 4 which deals with Alcoholic Beverages. The specific section of interest is:

ARS 4-244 — Unlawful Acts.

This section details all of the ‘unlawful acts’ associated with sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages. The specific subsections relating to firearms are numbers 29 and 30 which are reproduced below.

29. 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.

30. 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.

Violation of either of these sections is a Class 2 misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $750 and 4 months in jail.

Bottom Line…if you can drink there, leave your gun outside. Lock it in your car, but don’t carry into a bar.

Question: I am wondering if I should use +P ammo in my Springfield XD 45.

Your Springfield can handle the +P ammo just fine. The question is whether to use it or not.

Essentially what +P ammo does is give your .45 caliber bullet a slightly higher velocity. Normal .45 ACP caliber velocities are around 850 feet per second with energy delivered being about 375 foot pounds.

The +P loads will go with a velocity of 950-975 feet per second with the energy delivered being more in the range of 450 foot pounds. Both of these are with the normal 230 grain bullet.

A +P load is a faster, more penetrating, more hard hitting round. It will generally do greater damage to any human target you shoot and get better penetration for wounding in the deep organs of the body.

This increased power comes with the trade off of increased recoil and higher cost for the ammo. Remember that you must be able to accurately deliver rounds on target for them to have any effect. If you can shoot the +P loads accurately, certainly you should feel free to use them for defensive ammo.

My H&K USP Compact .45, is always loaded with Hornady TAP, 230 gr. +P ammo. In my personal experience, it performs exceptionally.

A reader sent me a question regarding the legality of having firearms in a household where there is a convicted felon. The specific question was:

“I have a valid Arizona CCW and want to keep a pistol in the house. My wife was convicted of a felony 15 years ago. Is it legal for me to keep a pistol in my house with her living there? What about the legality of carrying one concealed in my car?”

There are several points worthy of discussion here. First there is a bit of a conflict. The questioner can legally carry a concealed weapon and own a firearm. His wife cannot do either, yet they live in the same house.

Technically, if there is a firearm in the home, the wife is in violation of the law. As a convicted felon, she is prohibited from possessing a firearm. If she has reasonable access a firearm in the home, then she is violating the law. Her husband might also be charged with a weapons misconduct violation for making a firearm available to a prohibited possessor.

There are a couple of avenues for resolving this. The best would be to petition the court for restoration of her civil rights. As long as the felony conviction was not for a ‘dangerous offense’ as defined in ARS 13-604, depending on the crime, a convicted felon can apply for restoration of their civil rights two years after completion of any court ordered probation. If the person was convicted of a ‘serious offense’ under ARS 13-604, that period might be extended to as much as 10 years before the court can be petitioned for restoration of civil rights.

If the conviction is an old one and did not involve a ‘dangerous offense’, it would probably be worth looking into petitioning the court for restoration of civil rights. This would make the whole problem go away.

If that is not an option, then another thought would be to store the firearm in the home in such a way that there was no possibility of access by the wife. This would mean keeping any firearm in a locked safe that she did not have the combination for. Keyed locks, trigger locks or cable locks probably won’t work here as it could be argued they are easily defeated or that the key might become accessible.

The third possibility is not to have a firearm in the home at all. While I know this would seem to violate the rights of the husband to possess a firearm, rights don’t require that you exercise them. It is a choice that you can make or not. By having a firearm in the home, if it is accessible to the wife, it is placing her at risk of criminal prosecution under both state and federal law. This is probably not a prospect that she would relish.

Regarding the concealed carry in a vehicle, as long as the firearm is under the husband’s direct personal control and is not accessible to the wife, it is perfectly legal for him to have a concealed weapon in the vehicle. In my opinion, it needs to be on his person. If it were concealed anywhere else in the vehicle (map pocket, glove box, console), it could easily be argued that the firearm is accessible to anyone in the vehicle, including his wife should she be in the car. As a prohibited possessor, this again places her at risk of prosecution.

This is definitely a tough situation and not good for either the husband or wife. I’d say the best option is to check with the court to see if she is eligible to have her rights restored. This would be a good thing for her all the way around.

If that doesn’t work, you’ll need to think about the other options and which one you are willing to live with.

I have recently received a lot of questions about kids and Airsoft guns. The general gist of most questions is: “My kid wants an Airsoft gun since all his friends have them. Should I allow him to have one?” Most of the kids are under 16 and their parents are genuinely conflicted about what to do. As a parent myself, I can completely appreciate their situation.

Here’s the deal with Airsoft. They fire a 6mm plastic pellet. It is about the size of a pea. There are gas powered, spring powered and electric powered versions of both rifles and pistols. The velocity of the pellet varies with the quality of the gun and can be between 100 and 300 feet per second. Accuracy of the better guns is usually quite good, although because of the materials used in construction of the guns, even the more expensive ones will not stand up to hard use.

Here are a couple of things to consider that your kids probably won’t like. First, an Airsoft pistol is not a toy. It is a real, functioning gun. It simply shoots a plastic pellet. At velocities of 130 fps at relatively close ranges (25 ft or less) the plastic pellet will bruise or break bare skin.

I’m trying very hard not to sound like my mother, but the fact is anyone using an Airsoft gun without full eye protection is asking for serious eye injury.

If your child wants to use it for target type shooting and you are willing to get or give him some proper instruction in firearms safety, it possibly wouldn’t be too bad.

More likely I suspect that his friends participate in “skirmishes” or “mock warfare” and shoot at each other. For a 12 y/o that is probably a bad thing. For most kids in the 10-14 y/o age group, they just haven’t figured out that things like this involve potentially hazardous outcomes. It just isn’t “real” to them. Getting them to rigorously follow the safety rules on their own isn’t realistic. This is assuming that they don’t have constant adult supervision.

If you do decide to let them have one, make sure that is has a blaze-orange barrel tip. This is a federal requirement, but lots of kids break them off as it makes the gun look less ‘real’. This is exactly why it needs to be there as otherwise, airsoft guns can look almost exactly like the real thing, causing a lot of confusion potential if law enforcement ever gets involved.

I cannot stress the importance of full face and eye protection. Safety glasses are NOT enough. There is a reason that serious paintballers and airsoft warriors use full face protection…despite the fact that it isn’t “cool”.

In training that I give, I use airsoft in ‘force on force’ drills and require that everyone wears a full face paintball style protective mask, long sleeved garment and gloves. With all this protection, people still end up with small bruises and the occasional case of ‘pellet bite’.

For safety info, I have provided you with a link to the NRA website that has some good info for both children and parents. You should look for the link to “Parents Guide to Gun Safety”. Please visit this link as I am providing it so that I don’t have to retype this very complete discussion of firearms safety. Here’s the link: http://www.nrahq.org/education/guide.asp

I guess the final factor to consider is the level of maturity and responsibility of your child. If they are level headed and willing to accept guidelines and responsibly adhere to those guidelines, they might be a safe user of Airsoft. I would only point out that no retailer will sell Airsoft guns to anyone under 18. There is a good reason for that and it generally has to do with maturity and responsibility.

This week I had a question come in about concealed carry and open carry in Arizona. The question was basically this: Since Arizona has open carry is there any restriction on AZ CCW permit holders regarding open carry?

I thought it was an interesting question that deserved some clarification, particularly since some states actually require their concealed carry permit holders to keep their firearms concealed at all times.

In Arizona, open carry of firearms is permitted anywhere it is legal for a person to have a firearm. “Open Carry” applies when a person in possession of a firearm can be clearly seen to be armed by a casual observer. In other words, the firearm is in plain view for anyone to see.

If a person wishes to carry a firearm concealed on their person or in their vehicle, they must be in possession of a valid CCW permit either from Arizona or if a non resident, another state whose permit is recognized by Arizona.

The fact that a person has a concealed weapons permit does not require that they conceal their firearm. There are some occasions when I carry openly, particularly if I am out in the wilderness or if I am teaching at the range.

Possession of a valid CCW gives a person the privilege of carrying their firearm concealed. This provides a tremendous tactical advantage should they encounter an armed attacker. Maintaining the element of surprise is extremely important as depending on the situation, the firearm may or may not come into play immediately or at all.

In my opinion, it is a good idea to keep your firearm concealed if you have an Arizona CCW permit, but it is by no means a legal requirement.

I received a question from a gentleman who will be doing some active duty military training here in Arizona. He asked if his Oklahoma carry permit would allow him to carry in Arizona.

The short answer is that any active duty military personnel with an out-of-state permit recognized by Arizona can legally carry concealed on their non-resident permit. If they become an Arizona resident (get a driver’s license, pay Arizona taxes, etc.) then they would need to get their Arizona permit.

Bear in mind that non-residents carrying with an out-of-state permit must comply with Arizona laws regarding concealed carry and use of force.

As a result of the continuing outstanding efforts of the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AZCDL), there have been a number of changes and additions to the laws relating to either obtaining or renewing an AZ CCW Permit.

SB 1070

In Senate Bill 1070, signed by Governor Napolitano on June 10, 2008, the law regarding CCW renewal was clarified. Anyone that can provide adequate documentation can renew an expired permit or obtain a new permit if their original training occurred within the past 5 years.

The impact of this bill is that if you allow your permit to expire or have passed a CCW training class in the past five years but never applied for your CCW permit, by providing proof that you have attended training within the past five years along with your application, you can apply for an AZ CCW permit.

This effectively extends the training certificate’s window from the current one year to a full five years.

HB 2634

In House Bill 2634, a long standing issue regarding the issuance of permits to applicants with prior felony convictions has been clarified.

This bill, signed on June 10, 2008, clarifies that any person who has had a prior felony conviction, but whose conviction has been expunged or a person who has been convicted of a felony but has had their civil rights, including their right to own a firearm, restored by the court may obtain an Arizona CCW permit, assuming they satisfy the normal requirements for that permit.

This is a major change as prior to this law, DPS prohibited the issuance of an AZ CCW permit to any convicted felon, regardless of their status. This clarification in the law overrides the DPS administrative rules on issuance of permits to former convicted felons.

HB 2486

House Bill 2486 adds undocumented aliens to the list of prohibited possessors for the purpose of either purchasing a handgun or obtaining and Arizona CCW permit.

There is effectively no major change here as legal US residency was always a requirement for an Arizona CCW permit.

However, clarification of the law, makes clear that undocumented aliens are prohibited possessors, which could result in criminal penalties for anyone selling a firearm to an undocumented alien or for enhanced criminal penalties for any undocumented alien committing a crime involving the use of a firearm.

HB 2574

In House Bill 2574, signed on April 28, 2008, the law has been changed regarding the penalty for carrying a weapon in an airport, beyond the security cordon checkpoint. This crime is now a Class 1 Misdemeanor.

Bills that didn’t make it through

There were a number of other pieces of legislation pending, with most of them dying in committee. These bills were never acted on and will probably be reintroduced in future legislative sessions.

HB 2536 called the “Parking Lot Law” by some, would have provided that public and private employers cannot prohibit a person from transporting or storing a firearm in a locked vehicle in a parking area (subject to certain exceptions).

SB 1214 proposed changes to ARS 13-3102 to allow adults with Arizona Concealed Weapons permits (AZ CCW) to carry concealed firearms on school campuses, including colleges and universities. Federal law (18USC section 922(q)(2)(B)(ii) already allows CCW permit holders to possess firearms on school property.

SB 1400 proposed changes to establish liability for any ‘gun free zones’ established by a government entity. It would make them liable for damages resulting from criminal conduct if an individual could have used a firearm in self defense.

If you support passage of any of these pieces of proposed legislation, call or email your Arizona Senate or House member and let them know you’d like to support them and would like to see them reintroduced in the next legislative session.