Below is an update from AZCDL relating to Arizona Bills. If interested you can watch the archived video from the Senate Judiciary committee where these bills were discussed:
On Monday, April 7, 2008, the Senate Judiciary Committee heard and passed the following important pro-rights bills that originated in the House:
HB 2389, an AzCDL requested bill that clarifies that it is permissible to carry a weapon, without a CCW permit, visibly or concealed, anywhere within a means of transportation, excluding public transit. HB 2389 passed by a 4-2 vote with one member not voting.
HB 2629, an AzCDL requested bill that clarifies when a defensive display of a firearm is justified. HB 2629 passed by a 3-1 vote with 3 members not voting.
HB 2634, an AzCDL requested bill that clarifies that a person with an expunged or set-aside felony conviction, or one who has had their rights restored, may obtain a concealed weapons permit. HB 2634 passed by a 4-1 vote with 2 members not voting.
HB 2660, a bill that AzCDL opposes, failed in the same committee by a 2-4 vote with 1 member not voting. Despite the undoubtedly good intentions of its sponsor, the bill is essentially a trial lawyer's welfare act that allows victims of crimes to reach into the deep pockets of third parties that may have "contributed" to their assailant's behavior. The examples the bill's proponents use are "how to" videos for abduction and rape. However, the same standard could be applied to a firearms training course, video, book, "blog", etc.
Also in the Senate, HB 2630, another AzCDL requested bill, has passed through the various Senate committees and the majority and minority caucuses. From there it will go to COW and Third Read, and unless changes are made, head to the Governor's desk. If you are not committing, or attempting to commit, a serious or violent crime, HB 2630 reclassifies carrying a concealed weapon without a permit as a petty offense. We will alert you when the bill is scheduled for debate on the Senate floor.
Unfortunately, not all the news coming from the Senate is good. SB 1214, AzCDL's requested "Campus Carry" bill, was not put on the agenda for the Senate Committee of the Whole (COW) before this session's deadline. That means SB 1214 is dead this year. However, Campus Carry is getting national attention, and is gaining momentum and support in other states. The issue is not going away in Arizona simply because it stalled in this session. It will be back, and we will be there to push it!
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30 comments:
It's an election year and AZ1214 was a harder sell than the other AZ pro-right bills.
Agreed on the national awareness. The lid the libs have historically had on the 2A rights issue is loose and the water is boiling from people like us who are not backing down on protecting our constitutional rights.
Keep up the good work Dustin. Your blog is a God-send.
Thanks :)
How long does it take for HB 2634 to become law?
Well so far it has passed in the House, and has been approved by the Senate Judiciary committee with a do pass recommendation, so its next step would be Senate caucas followed by COW (committee of the whole - floor debate) followed by a 3rd read & vote. It could be anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months (normally the Arizona legislative session is over by sometime in May or June, but there is no mandatory end date) before it is sent to the Governor. If she either signs it or does nothing it would then become law. Since it passed in the House unanimously (only one representative chose to abstain from voting, all others were Aye), I think it is likely going to pass in the Senate & the Governor will probably sign it.
Thanks for the quick response
It sounds like 2634 may not pass, its stalled in the Senate.
I just tried checking the azleg.gov website to see if HB2634 has been scheduled for the Senate Rules Committee yet, but their site appears to be down for some reason. Last Friday I heard from AZCDL that it needs to be scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Rules Committee & it had not yet been scheduled. You can send an e-mail to the following Senate Rules Committee email addresses to request that they schedule it: jtibshraeny@azleg.gov, tverschoor@azleg.gov, tbee@azleg.gov, rburns@azleg.gov, jgarcia@azleg.gov, ahale@azleg.gov, dmccunedavis@azleg.gov
I did send them all an email and to let them know that I vote. Thanks for getting back
I called Senator Jay Tibshraney office and was told the 2634 was not stalled, they were trying to work thier way thru other bills but would schedule sometime soon,we will see.
That is good news :)
HB 2634 will be heard on the next agenda, do you know when that is?
Thanks
You are correct - I just checked & it is scheduled for a rules committee hearing on Monday! Excellent news.
Here is the link.
Great Thanks
I received an email from Senator Tibshraeny today telling me that 2634 was voted out of the Rules committee today. I was hoping you could tell me what that means, I'm
not to aware of how our State Goverment works
Yes that is good news. It means that they've approved the bill as is & it will now go to committee of the whole & then finally to 3rd read & official vote by the Senate.
Very good,Thanks
After all the vetos on other gun bills by our gun friendly Governor, I dont see 2634 being signed by her. Is she up for reelection? If she is,She wont get my vote
Lucky for us Arizona Governors are limited to two 4 year terms, so she won't be able to run for the Governor seat again in 2010 (she first won office in 2002, and won the re-election in 2006. Many believe that some of the top Conservatives declined to run against her in 2006 out of fear of loosing which may be a contributing factor to why she won the re-election despite herself. She won't be able to run for Governor in 2010, although she would be able to run for a US House or Senate seat at that time.
Am keeping an eye on HB 2634 since seeing it in the weekly NRA emails. Am a lifetime NRA member.
I was convicted of a non-violent felony almost 30 years ago and placed on probation. Never served any time and released from probation early. My probation officer here in Arizona pushed me to get my rights restored as he knew I enjoyed shooting, which I did in a little known DOJ program offered at that time.
Fast forward 20 years to when I lived in Texas for a while and I was legal to have a firearm in that state but when I moved back to Arizona I had to get rid of everything as evidently sheriff joe does not agree with the "rights restored" idea.
Believe that the bill has been sent to the Gov for signing today. Sure hope this bill passes but considering that our Gov hates firearms am not holding my breath!
I just checked & you are correct. It was sent to her today. I'll give her a call & ask her to sign it.
Here is the info
Any news or updates on this bill?
Well, just looked on the legislative website and it appears that a miracle has happened. Its showing that the Gov signed this bill on the 12th!
http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/legtext/48leg/2r/bills/hb2634o.asp
You are correct Joe. Although she has used her veto stamp on all but 2 pro-gun pieces of legislation this session, amazingly she did sign two of them.
So when does the law take effect?
I have looked at the entire bill on the internet and no luck so far with an effective date.
It falls under the category of "general effective date" - all bills that don't specify an effective date fall into that category. The "general effective date" is 91 days after the Arizona Legislature closes this years session. This link should be updated with the 2008 general effective date after the session has ended this year.
I find it interesting that DPS website has not been updated to let folks know that the law will change at the end of Sept. The site still says convicted felons even with rights restored cannot obtain a ccw permit.
Yes I noticed that too. Hopefully they'll update that soon.
Dps has updated their website, after reading what they say about hb 2634 it kinda sounds as if they are not going to be very forth coming with the ccw.If your rights are restored I dont see what their problem is.
I want you to know that I received my ccw on 10/21,just want to say thanks for all your hard work
Thanks, and Congratulations!
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