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Pro-rights bills filed!

azcdlfred

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 10, 2006
Messages
901
Location
Tucson, Arizona, USA
imported post

The 2008 Legislative session is underway and the bills are rolling in. January 17[suP]th[/suP] was the deadline for House members to “pre-file” bills. After that, each member is limited to 7 bills. As a result, a flood of new bills were filled late into the evening. As this Alert was being drafted, 856 bills have been filed. Expect more as the Senate deadline approaches.

AzCDL has been busy culling the good, bad and ugly bills that we are monitoring.

Now for some really great news! Most of the bills on AzCDL’s wish list have been filed. This wasn’t by accident. We have been working with legislators on proposed legislation ever since the last session ended. Here are some of the key firearm related bills we are aggressively supporting (you can find the full list of bills we support on our website’s Legislation page):

HB 2222 – Clarifies the right to carry a concealed weapon, without needing a concealed weapons (CCW) permit, on property, or in vehicles, owned, leased or rented, along with common areas.

HB 2389 – Removes the prohibitions on carrying a concealed weapon, without a permit, anywhere in a vehicle.

HB 2536 – A public or private employer cannot prohibit a person from transporting or storing a firearm in a locked vehicle in a parking area (subject to certain exceptions).

HB 2629 – Clarifies when a defensive display of a firearm is justified. Under current law, a defensive display can be categorized as “endangerment” (ARS 13-1201), “threatening and intimidation” (ARS 13-1202), “assault” (ARS 13-1203), or “aggravated assault” (ARS 13-1204).

HB 2630 – Reduces the penalty for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit to a petty offense, except in the commission of a crime. The Governor vetoed this bill last year, but we’re not going to roll over. This bill was filed with 21 co-sponsors.

HB 2634 – Clarifies that a person with an expunged felony, or who has had their rights restored, may obtain a concealed weapons permit. Because the law has been silent in this area, DPS has refused to issue permits.

HCR 2037 – Adds a right to hunt and fish to the Arizona Constitution.

SB 1070 – CCW reform that clarifies that there are no date restrictions between when a person completes training and applies for a permit; removes the requirement that an instructor be part of a training organization; and allows that training can be conducted by NRA instructors.

SB 1106 – Provides for an optional lifetime CCW permit and caps permit fees.

Another bill that has been filed this year is “Restaurant Carry,” SB 1132. It’s very limited in scope but provides a first step towards addressing the Jim Crow “we don’t serve your kind here” attitude prevalent in Arizona.

But wait! There’s more! Next week we’re expecting a “Campus Carry” bill to be filed. We are also expecting a bill that would require establishments that prohibit weapons to assume liability for your safety.

As you can see, a number of controversial bills have been filed. Many were filed at our request. How far they get through the process of committee hearings and floor votes depends largely on YOU and the pressure YOU put on the legislature through your emails, calls and letters.

There are also a number of thoroughly evil bills, such as HB 2358, HB 2429, HB 2430, and HB 2431, which demonize gun owners and gun ownership. Bills identical to HB 2430 and 2431 have been introduced in every recent session, but don’t get traction in this Republican controlled legislature. We need to make sure those abominations don’t move during this session either. Think about what would happen if the current majority wasn’t there. This is an election year. Things could be drastically different next year, unless YOU become involved in the political process.

Stay tuned! As relevant legislation is introduced and progresses, we will keep you up to date viaour Alerts.

These alerts are a project of the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL), an all volunteer, non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization. Join today!

AzCDL – Protecting Your Freedom

Copyright © 2008 Arizona Citizens Defense League, Inc., all rights reserved.
 
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