So I have lived in Arizona for 4 years now, relocating from the People's Republic of Kalifornia. I really enjoy living in the United States now and taking advantage of all the benefits a free society has to offer.
When I crossed the border, into Arizona, I kid you not, I felt a sense of profound relief. I was finally going to live somewhere where I was not the enemy or the perceived cause of all of societies problems by virtue of my white skin and conservative values. In hindsight, I wish I had moved here in 1981, when I graduated high school.
As many of you know, Arizona is a Constitutional Carry State, no need for a permit to exercise your rights. All citizens, who are not prohibited persons, may carry weapons for self-defense either concealed or unconcealed, as they wish. Arizona residents have had the right to open carry since before we became a state in 1912. In 2010, the law was changed to allow folks could carry concealed without a permit of any kind.
When I first arrived, I will confess, it was a little weird seeing folks open carrying at Wells Fargo Bank, McDonalds and Walmart. I wasn't bothered by it, just not used to it, living in Kalifornia all of my life. I saw no need to get a Arizona CCW for the last 4 years, until yesterday.
The Class
I signed-up for a class online on Friday and attended in-person at Ben Avery Shooting Range, a few miles from my house, on Saturday. The class was put on by this company:
The instructor was an active Phoenix PD officer with 30 years on the job. The $79, two hour class was a combination of lecture and Q&A. The focus was mainly on Arizona laws relating to CCW and use of force in general. The quality of the information was first rate as was the instructor Ken. I learned a couple of things and felt this was a good use of my time.
As part of the class we were fingerprinted and filled out the one page, two sided application. The process was simple and easy. All that was left to do was to send certified funds of $60 to the state and wait one to two months for the 5 year CCW Permit to arrive by mail. Simple and easy.
The classes and CCW permits are available to all U.S. Citizens residing in the 50 states. About a third of the class was from out-of-state. Currently Arizona CCW permits are recognized in the majority of states in the union, with the usual suspects, California and New York, etc. excluded (see map).
CCW Advantages
So why spend the money and go through the process, when I can and do already legally carry arms. here were my reasons;
1. Ability to carry out of state in 35 states.
2. Bypass NCIS system when purchasing a firearm
3. Ability to legally have a gun within 1,000 feet of a school (Federal law) and able to have my "unloaded" gun in my car while in the school parking lot picking up my kids.
Note: This appears to be an unworkable half-measure that needs to be changed. Basically you are supposed to unload your gun prior to entering the school parking lot and conceal your firearm from view. If you leave your vehicle, the firearm has to be either locked in the trunk or some other secure space.
After dropping off or picking up your kids, you can reload your gun and go on your marry way. Safety wise, this is just asking for trouble. In reality, I doubt most permit holders are doing this as its just plain unsafe and stupid to have to load and unload your gun 10 times a week in the car.
So the law as written is essentially a "Got Ya" for the unlucky good guy that has a police contact on school grounds, maybe from a traffic collision, etc.
4. Able to carry inside a restaurant that serves alcohol, provided you don't consume any or the business clearly posts a "No Guns" sign.
5. Carry in National parks inside Arizona
What's Missing
I was surprised that the State of Washington was not on the list of states that recognized Arizona CCW permits, although they do recognize Utah permits. So I may have to go this route, as I plan on visiting this state in the future.
I was also surprised to read that Oregon does not honor any permits and only allows Oregon resident or a resident of a bordering state (Washington, Idaho, Nevada, or California) to obtain a non-resident permit. I guess they have more Kalifornias living there than I thought. So there is zero legal way for an Arizona resident to exercise their rights in Oregon.
Kalifornia Comparison
The State of California is a may issue state at the full discretion of the county sheriff or the chief of police where you live or work. so all 58 counties have different rules, processes and standards to issue a permit. All permits are recognized statewide and non-residents and out of state permit holders may not carry firearms in California, period.
I lived in Los Angeles County and they would only issue to Celebrities, Judges, Political Donors and their other buddies. Regular folks need not apply. The ability to issue (or deny) CCW Permits is raw political power, plain and simple.
San Bernardino County will issue, but the process is expense and time consuming and can take a year or more. They interview your employer ("Hey Boss, the cops want to talk to you about Bob"), neighbors and require character letters and a "good reason" be stated for wanting a permit. You also have at least one in-person interview at the station. Becoming chief of police is probably easier.
Some rural counties behaved like Shall Issue states and if you were a good guy, you could easily get a permit, good statewide. Right now, California has a population of around 38.8 million residents and they have around 100,000 permits issued. Arizona by comparison has a population of around 6.7 Million and has around 305,000 permits issued.
Conclusion
National Reciprocity legislation can't come soon enough. The patchwork of statewide restrictions are just about unworkable. If the states behaved the same way with driver's licenses, chaos would be the order of the day.
The Arizona process is easy simple and cheap. In a perfect world, a permit would not be unnecessary to simply exercise your God given rights, as enumerated in the U.S. Constitution. Until that day, at least most states in the union have some means for people to legal carry a gun for the protection of themselves and others.
Arizona CCW Experience
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