Very minor changes are not noted here but will appear in the next edition of The Arizona Gun Owner's Guide (AGOG). For example, in one law, "under the provisions of section 13-3101" has been changed to, "under section 13-3101," and has no substantive effect. Many similar minor technical fixes are made constantly by lawmakers and their staffs. We include them in the statutes in the book, but including them here would serve little purpose.

 

EIGHT GUN BILLS SIGNED BY AZ GOVERNOR
All anti-rights bills defeated, some pro-rights bills died

Basically, the state did very well if you're a rights supporter

by Alan Korwin, Author
The Arizona Gun Owner's Guide
Gun Laws of America

 Waiting until the last possible moment, Arizona governor Jan Brewer on July 13 signed all eight gun-related bills enacted by the state legislature in 2009. Two crucial bills, Constitutional Carry and penalty reduction for discreet carry without a permit, failed passage at the last minute and didn't make it to her desk. The eight bills signed into law, which will become effective on Sep. 30, 2009 (except SB 1242, effective immediately), are:

 HB 2569   New penalty for smuggling people for profit, involving a deadly weapon
SB 1113   CCW in liquor-serving places OK without drinking, unless no-gun signs
SB 1088   Domestic violence protection extended to romantic or sexual partners
SB 1168   Parking lots cannot ban firearms locked in vehicles, with exceptions
SB 1242   Exemptions from CCW and more for more "proper authorities"
SB 1243   Defensive display of a firearm in self defense defined and protected
SB 1437   AZ High School Marksmanship Program instructor definition expanded
SB 1449   Retroactive self-defense clarification (Harold Fish law)

7/31/09: And -- found one more, click here to see it:
Limited restoration of rights for people no longer deemed incompetent.
HB 2532, CH 145, Adds §13-924, amends §§13-3101, 32-2612, 36-540.

 At least 14 gun-related bills were introduced this year, with the few anti-rights bills repudiated early in the session and defeated. One other pro-rights bill died at the end, the effort to reduce required classes to three or four hours for people already well trained in gun use through military, police or private programs. Some 20 legislators walked out very late on the final session (which went all night and ended at 7:30 a.m.) stealing away votes that had been verbally committed and were needed for passage of that and the petty-offense amendment for discreet carry without a permit. The pro-rights people were left with 30 votes, and needed 31 to pass the laws.

The entire session was run in a bizarre manner -- no legislative work for months in the Senate while the Napolitano deficit was being resolved, then an impossibly crowded and rushed legislative calendar in the final few weeks, with no room for error, adjustment or contemplation. The procedures were a disgraceful humiliating embarrassment to good governance.

Constitutional Carry, which would have allowed law-abiding Arizonans to carry a firearm discreetly -- with the same freedom they've had since statehood in 1912 to carry openly -- got tied up in the Rules committee in the closing days of the session. A late amendment to the bill, which created a conflict with federal law, forced Rules to hold the bill and there wasn't enough time left in the session to make the needed changes.

The amendment was added by Judiciary chairman Jonathan Paton (R-Tucson), normally a good supporter of RKBA, who insisted he wouldn't hear the bill without the new language. The amendment criminalized smuggling guns across the Mexican border, which DPS wants even though it's a federal matter. That carrot might have helped move the cart on Constitutional Carry, which DPS is basically against, but in the end scuttled the bill.

Following standard practice, this year's changes will be produced as an insert and included with copies of The Arizona Gun Owner's Guide, posted on our website, and available as a formatted pdf file or plain text for downloading. This is a preliminary analysis for review and comment.