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open carry

protector84

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2007
Messages
624
Location
Arizona, U.S.
imported post

As long as you are not a prohibited possessor, you can carry any legal loaded or unloaded firearm as long as the weapon is visible and a reasonable person would not consider that you are knowingly trying to conceal the weapon. The law also makes exemptions. For instance, the weapon itself can be concealed as long as the case, holster, or other carrying device is wholly or partially visible and again in a way that a reasonable person would not believe to be attempted concealment. Other exemptions include that if it is concealed in luggage, a glove box, or other compartment but not considered to be concealed on a person or in immediate control of that person it is legal. Other types of concealed carry require a CCW permit. I would recommend checking the Arizona Revised Statutes for more information.

The law only references a permit required for concealed weapons and only mentions that it is illegal to knowingly carry concealed without a permit. For decades, Arizona has been known to be a right-to-carry state because there is no reference in the law that makes any type of open carry illegal with the exception of carrying in a dangerous or threatening manner. A lot of people on this discussion board and elsewhere are convinced that certain types of open carry are illegal but the truth is that there is no law in the books backing up their claims.

I have had several run-ins with police while carrying and each time they said as long as it is visible, it is legal. One of those cases was where only the holster was visible and barely visible because the jacket was accidently covering it when I was pulled over. I declared the weapon up front and the officer stated that he did not have an issue with it being only partially visible. If you want exact information, I would recommend checking the laws verbating or talking to an attorney. I know what the law says but I do not know what courts have ruled. Sometimes the law may not say that something is illegal but the cops, judges, and juries seem to make up their own laws. But as far as I'm concerned, if I want to, I can carry a pistol with only half the holster visible and can walk down a major street with an AK-47 in my hands, and there is nothing in the law that says it is prohibited.
 

me812

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2008
Messages
216
Location
federally occupied Arizona
imported post

As long as you are not a prohibited possessor, you can carry any legal loaded or unloaded firearm as long as the weapon is visible

The weapon only must be visible only if it is unholstered. A holstered weapon can be concealed anywhere in the vehicle, except on ones person. Also, the law explicitly allows an unholstered weapon to be concealed in a glove box.

This is the relavent statute:

A. A person commits misconduct involving weapons by knowingly:

2. Carrying a deadly weapon without a permit pursuant to section 13-3112 concealed within immediate control of any person in or on a means of transportation

F. Subsection A, paragraph 2 of this section shall not apply to a weapon or weapons carried in a case, holster, scabbard, pack or luggage that is carried within a means of transportation or within a storage compartment, map pocket, trunk or glove compartment of a means of transportation.

Here is a link:

http://www.azleg.state.az.us/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/13/03102.htm&Title=13&DocType=ARS
 
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