AZ:Committee Hearings This Week!

A bunch of pro gun bills will be heard at hearings this week. Be sure to contact your Representatives with your thoughts and submit your comments to the Arizona Request to Speak System for the hearings. If you are not yet registered for the Arizona Request to Speak System you can do so at any kiosk at the AZ House or Senate building (1700 W Washington, Phoenix, AZ 85007).

If you are unable to attend the hearing in person, you can watch online via either live or archived video streaming.

More on the upcoming hearings from AZCDL:

Four pro-rights bills are scheduled for committee hearings next week.

SB 1098, the "Firearms Freedom Act," will be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday, February 1, 2009.

SB 1102, the AzCDL-requested "Constitutional Carry" bill, will also be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday.

HB 2347, the House version of SB 1102 (Constitutional Carry), will be heard in the House Military Affairs and Public Safety Committee on Wednesday, February 3, 2010.

SB 1011, authorizing college and university faculty members, with CCW permits, to possess a concealed firearm on campus, will be heard in the Senate Public Safety and Human Services Committee on Wednesday, February 3, 2010.

We urge you to contact the committee members on these bills and WE’VE MADE IT EASIER FOR YOU!

AzCDL has added a Legislative Action Center to improve YOUR ability to contact Arizona legislators and share your opinion at http://capwiz.com/azcdl/home/ . This is the same interface used by Gun Owners of America and many other successful organizations.

To take action on the above bills from AzCDL’s Legislative Action Center home page, click on “Issues,” then click on “Legislative Alerts and Updates” (http://capwiz.com/azcdl/issues/?style=D&). There you will find a list of the bills mentioned in this Alert that require action. Clicking on any one of them will take you to an editable letter. You can add your own text or send it as is, after filing in the required fields. WE WILL NOT SHARE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION WITH ANYONE! We also recommend keeping the “remember me” box checked so that next time you send a letter there will be less work to do.

Our Legislative Action Center is new to us also. If you spot any errors or have any suggestions, please let us know by sending an email to treasurer@azcdl.org.

In other news, the following bills recently passed out of committee.

HB 2307, the House version of SB 1098 (Firearms Freedom Act), passed out of the House Judiciary Committee by a 5-2 vote, with one member absent, on January 28, 2010.

SB 1172, which improves the language in Arizona’s school gun safety program statutes, passed out of the Senate Education and Accountability Reform Committee, by a unanimous 7-0 vote, on January 27, 2010.

The normal process for any bill passing out of a committee is to go to their respective chambers Rules Committee. The following bills are due to be heard Monday, February 1, 2010 in the Senate Rules Committee:

SB 1021, which incorporates defensive display into the statutes regarding the justification for deadly force.

SB 1153, knife preemption.

SB 1172, school gun safety improvements.

Stay tuned! When critical legislation moves, we will notify you via these Alerts.

You can also follow AzCDL on Twitter: http://twitter.com/AzCDL_Alerts
and Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/FacebookAzCDL .

AzCDL’s Political Action Committee (PAC) is also on Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/FacebookAzCDLPAC .

These alerts are a project of the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL), an all volunteer, non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization. Renew your membership today! http://www.azcdl.org/html/join_us_.html

AzCDL – Protecting Your Freedom
http://www.azcdl.org/html/accomplishments.html

Copyright © 2010 Arizona Citizens Defense League, Inc., all rights reserved.

AZ: Home Intruder Demanding Keys to Car Given Lead Instead

A suspect who robbed a carwash had his car break down while he was making his getaway. He ditched his car at an elementary school, causing the school to go into lockdown, and took off on foot into the nearby neighborhood. He broke into a home and demanded the keys to the car. Instead of keys, the homeowner gave him lead.

I love happy endings!

H/T to Shawn.

AZ: Firearms Freedom Act HB 2307

The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hear HB 2307 the Firearms Freedom Act today (Thursday, January 28, 2010) at 9 AM MST in House Hearing Rm 4. If passed into law it would prohibit the Federal Government from sticking it's nose into the sale or regulation of guns fully manufactured & used only in Arizona as they would not be involved in interstate commerce.

Be sure to contact your Senator with your thoughts and submit your comments to the Arizona Request to Speak System for the hearing. If you are not yet registered for the Arizona Request to Speak System you can do so at any kiosk at the AZ House or Senate building (1700 W Washington, Phoenix, AZ 85007).

If you are unable to attend the hearing in person, you can watch online via either live or archived video streaming.

Update 1: The House Judiciary Committee passed the bill out of Committee with a do pass recommendation by a vote of 5 to 2.

Steve Lee: I Like Guns

Tom Gresham interviewed Steve Lee, a singer/songwriter in Australia who created the I Like Guns Music Album. The first part of the music video takes place in Australia where there is a current ban on most semi-automatic guns, the second half took place in Cambodia - you'll notice the weapons he used in Cambodia included items not legal in Australia such as full auto machine guns and rocket propelled grenades - looks to me like he had a blast. Steve Lee has an I Like Guns album available in iTunes.

AZ: Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing

Our first 2010 Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on gun rights bills is scheduled for this Monday Jan 25th at 1:00 PM MST in Senate Hearing Room 1. Be sure to contact your Senator in addition to the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and submit your comments to the Arizona Request to Speak System for the hearing.

If you are not yet registered for the Arizona Request to Speak System you can do so at any kiosk at the AZ House or Senate building (1700 W Washington, Phoenix, AZ 85007).

If you are unable to attend the hearing in person, you can watch online via either live or archived video streaming.

More from AZCDL:

Bills are already starting to move! The Senate Judiciary Committee has the 5 following pro-rights bills scheduled for a hearing on Monday, January 25, 2010 (http://tinyurl.com/SJUD20100125):

SB 1021 – Incorporates defensive display into the justification for deadly force statutes.
(Bill text: http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/sb1021p.pdf ).

SB 1098 – Arizona’s version of the “Firearms Freedom Act.” If passed and signed into law, any firearm manufactured in Arizona and that remains in the state, “is not subject to Federal law or Federal regulation, including registration, under the authority of Congress to regulate interstate commerce and it not considered to have traveled in interstate commerce.”
(Bill text: http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/sb1098p.pdf ).

SB 1101 – Allows certain detention officers and retired law enforcement to possess a concealed firearm without a CCW permit.
(Bill text: http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/sb1101p.pdf ).

SB 1102 – The AzCDL-requested Constitutional Carry bill that eliminates the prohibition and penalties for adults carrying a concealed weapon without a permit.
(Bill text: http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/sb1102p.pdf ).

SB 1153 – A knife preemption law being championed by the national Knife Rights organization (http://www.kniferights.org).
(Bill text: http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/sb1153p.pdf ).

It’s time to remind the committee members that you are keenly interested in what they are doing, and that you want these bills to favorably pass out of the Senate Judiciary committee.

We urge everyone to contact the Senate Judiciary Committee members and politely ask them to support SB 1021, 1098, 1101, 1102 and 1153 when they meet on Monday, January 25, 2010. The following is a sample letter you can use. Following the sample are the email addresses of committee members.

Please be sure to include your name, address, and phone number in all correspondence.

If you are a subscriber to the RTS (Request To Speak) system at the Capitol, log on and express your support to the committee. If you want more information about how to set up an account on RTS, send an email to President@AzCDL.org.

Stay tuned! When critical legislation moves, we will notify you via these Alerts.

You can also follow AzCDL on Twitter: http://twitter.com/AzCDL_Alerts
and Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/FacebookAzCDL .

AzCDL’s Political Action Committee (PAC) is also on Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/FacebookAzCDLPAC .

These alerts are a project of the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL), an all volunteer, non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization. Join today! http://www.azcdl.org/html/join_us_.html

AzCDL – Protecting Your Freedom
http://www.azcdl.org/html/accomplishments.html

Copyright © 2010 Arizona Citizens Defense League, Inc., all rights reserved.

TX: Austin PD Openly Attacks Freedom

In a flagrant attack on freedom and gun shows, the Austin Texas Police Department in conjunction with BATFE thugs illegally prohibited the private party transfer of personal property by law abiding American Citizens while attending Gun Shows. They had zero legislation with which to support this unconstitutional attack on our freedom, so both organizations are clearly acting outside of the law. You can listen to Alex Jones discuss this on his Jan 18th 2010 radio show in hours 1-4.

This is the type of attack I would not have been surprised to see in Washington DC or Chicago, but not Texas. Most of the Texans I know will not stand for this blatant attack on our liberty.

Update 1: Howard Nemerov has new details - it now looks like the property owner bears more blame than the Austin PD.

Ray Stevens: We The People

Excellent music video from Ray Stevens. How can you go wrong with the lyric "Hey Congress: You vote Obamacare, we'll vote you outa there! We the people have awakened to your tricks"

NRA Online Advisory Panel

The NRA has formed an NRA online advisory panel. Join in and share your opinion. After you sign up, you can take their 2nd Amendment Spectrum poll to see where you stand on the spectrum. You'll also be able to see how your stand compares with those of your elected representatives. I scored a 100%. Where do you fall on the spectrum?

There is also an online forum where you can join discussions on the issues. More details:

The NRA Online Advisory Panel

A few weeks ago, we launched a brand new service -- the NRA Online Advisory Panel -- a community of our most active and loyal supporters.

As a part of the Advisory Panel, you have the opportunity to engage with other NRA members, take weekly polls and surveys, compare Members of Congress, track federal legislation, and more. This is your chance to make your voice count. NRA wants to know what you think and what gun owners are concerned-or excited-about in your part of the country.

Thousands of NRA members have already joined and the community is growing every day. If you haven't already visited this new web site, please be sure to do so soon.

To find out more and to sign up to become a member of the NRA Online Advisory Panel, please visit: http://nra.civicscience.com.

Copyright 2010, National Rifle Association of America, Institute for Legislative Action. This may be reproduced. It may not be reproduced for commercial purposes. 11250 Waples Mill Road, Fairfax, VA 22030 800-392-8683

Good News for Hunters & Target Shooters in Arizona

The NRA has Won the right to defend Hunters against a lawsuit that was filed last year against the Arizona BLM & Fish & Wildlife Service that is seeking to ban lead ammunition. This is good news for all Arizona gun owners, for those who hunt, and those who don't.

She Wanted a Gun

I know that the demand to purchase handguns, rifles, and ammunition have been at all time highs since the 2008 election, but I'd never trade my daughter for a gun, no matter how long I had to save up to buy another one.

AZCDL: 2010 Bills include Constitutional Carry

Update from Arizona Citizens Defense League:

AzCDL has been laying the groundwork for Constitutional Carry since we began: http://www.azcdl.org/html/our_goals.html . In the last two legislative sessions we came very close. This year Senator Russell Pearce, along with 16 co-sponsors, filed SB 1102, and Representative Frank Antenori, along with 17 co-sponsors, filed HB 2347. Both bills have the following features:

- Eliminate the prohibition and penalties for adults carrying a concealed weapon without a permit.
- Include defensive display in the justification for deadly force (similar to HB 2015 & SB 1021).
- Allow CCW permit holders to carry in “non-secure” public buildings.
- Remove the unloaded firearm requirement when picking up and dropping off school students.
- Allow LEOSA certified retired Law Enforcement Officers to carry on school grounds.
- Require confiscated firearms to be sold rather than destroyed.
- Eliminate the training requirement to obtain a CCW permit.

We urge everyone to send a thank you note to Senator Pearce (rpearce@azleg.gov) and Representative Antenori (fantenori@azleg.gov) for introducing these bills. If your Senator and/or Representatives co-sponsored SB 1102 or HB 2347 please send them a thank you message. If they are not a co-sponsor, we urge you contact them and ask why not. You can find the co-sponsors of SB 1102 here:
http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/sb1102o.asp .
You can find the co-sponsors of HB 2347 here:
http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/hb2347o.asp .
You can find contact information for your legislators here:
http://www.azleg.gov/alisStaticPages/HowToContactMember.asp .

We are expecting a firestorm from the anti-rights zealots, so we will be asking your help to ensure the passage of SB 1102 & HB 2347 throughout this legislative session. Warm up your keyboards!

SB 1102 & HB 2437 aren’t the only important bills we’re expecting this year. For months, AzCDL has been working behind the scenes with pro-rights legislators on a number of paradigm shifting bills. Stay tuned!

Meanwhile, other bills are still being filed. Senators have until February 1, 2010 to introduce bills and the deadline in the House is February 8, 2010. Along with Constitutional Carry, the following firearm related bills have been filed:

HB 2015 (Burges) – Adds defensive display of a firearm as an alternative to, or in conjunction with, the use of deadly physical force.

HB 2016 (Burges) – Allows out of state applicants whose rights have been restored to obtain a CCW permit under the same conditions as Arizona residents.

HB 2017 (Burges) – Clarifies that NRA instructors may teach the school gun safety courses.

HB 2041 (Kavanagh) – Adds school districts, charter schools, community colleges and state universities to the definition of political subdivisions where a law enforcement officer may carry a firearm.

HB 2201 (Lujan) – Creates a crime for firearm “Straw Purchases” made in Arizona. AzCDL opposes this bill.

HB 2271 (Ableser) – Increases the penalty for possessing a firearm at a post-secondary institution from a misdemeanor to a class 6 felony. AzCDL opposes this bill.

HB 2307 (Antenori) – Exempts firearms manufactured and sold in Arizona from Federal oversight.

HB 2406 (Antenori) – Clarifies the “no firearms” signage requirements for restaurants. Also changes the affirmative defense language to “not an offense.” Finally, it restores the requirement that a person “knows the possession of a firearm is prohibited” in an establishment.

HB 2543 (Gowan) – Strengthens state firearms preemption laws, adds firearms storage and reloading components to the list of things political subdivisions cannot regulate, and removes the prohibition on carrying a firearm in public parks without a CCW permit.

SB 1011 (Harper) – Allows college/university faculty members with CCW permits to possess a concealed firearm on campus.

SB 1015 (Harper) – Similar to HB 2406.

SB 1021 (Pearce) – Identical to HB 2015.

SB 1098 (Pearce) – Identical to HB 2307.

SB 1101 (Pearce) – Expands the list of law enforcement officers exempt from concealed weapons permit requirements.

As bills are filed, we will add them to our website: http://www.azcdl.org/html/2010_bills.html .

These alerts are a project of the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL), an all volunteer, non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization. Renew today! http://www.azcdl.org/html/join_us_.html

AzCDL – Protecting Your Freedom
http://www.azcdl.org/html/accomplishments.html

Copyright © 2009 Arizona Citizens Defense League, Inc., all rights reserved.

NH: Bad Solutions to Problems that Don't Exist

It is ludicrous to believe that the action of placing a gun free zone sign on a building could ever hope to prevent a criminal from breaking the law by walking past it and continuing on to far worse deeds. Protesters in NH agree.

We still need to get rid of a few victim rich zones here in our own State of Arizona, our Capitol buildings among them.

Gun free zones disarm the law abiding, not the criminals.

Even NBA Players have Rights

NBA Players have the right to bear arms in defense of themselves & their families, just like the rest of us.

Dustin's Gun Blog Facebook Fan Page

It's all the rage in modern social media networking, so I finally took the plunge last night and created a Dustin's Gun Blog facebook fan page. If you're on facebook, join in on the fun. If you live in Arizona, consider joining those of us in the Arizona Gun Owners facebook group as well.

Washington Times Editorial: The forgotten virtue of firearms

I just read a well stated editorial from the Washington Times on the forgotten virtue of firearms. It discusses the one-sided nature of the mainstream news as it relates to criminals using guns. If it bleeds it leads, leading to the primary focus of headline news being placed on stories of criminals attacking defenseless victims, while the vast majority of crimes stopped by law abiding gun owners don't lead the news as there was no blood involved - simply aiming a gun at the bad guy was enough to stop the attack in 98% of the cases of self defense. When self defense uses of a gun are reported and covered at all, they seldom go beyond a small story buried deep in the local news.

The Washington Times editorial also brings up the important fact that the vast majority of mass shootings have taken place in so-called gun free zones - places where criminals & sociopaths have the upper hand on victims rendered defenseless by bad policies or laws, places like Virginia Tech or the recent Fort Hood Terrorist Attack. Gun free zones are a failed progressive experiment based on the mistaken fallacy that criminals might obey a gun free zone sign. It is high time we stop treating our citizens like lab rats, it's time to end the gun free zone experiment.

Open Carry Experience in Oregon

I was recently traveling through Oregon where they currently have zero reciprocity for any out of State CCW permits (for additional info on gun laws impacting armed travel check out these gun travel tools). In addition to zero reciprocity Oregon is also unwilling to issue CCW permits to non-residents unless you happen to live in a bordering State. As an Arizona resident, the only way I'm not prohibited from protecting myself while traveling through Oregon is to open carry, and even then I have to stay out of six of their Nanny State cities like Portland who prefer to make out of State visitors easy targets for criminals. As a result, before I crossed into Oregon I tucked in my shirt to transition from concealed to open carry.

As we traveled through Oregon stopping from time to time to eat or refuel our vehicle, most of the people encountered didn't appear to notice my handgun. However, while we were at a gas station paying someone else to do my normal task of refueling our car, I went into the convenience store to buy some soda and snacks. While there, I overheard a child nearby ask his father: "Dad, why does that man have a gun?"

His father didn't answer, so I took the opportunity to respond myself. While pointing to our car outside I said: "you see, I have a wife and children in that car out there who I love very much, and I'll do whatever it takes to keep them safe. My handgun is just one of the tools at my disposal to help me do that."

He seemed satisfied with my answer, and even gave me a smile.

AZCDL Alert on 2010 Bills

From the Arizona Citizens Defense League:

Even though the next “Regular” legislative session doesn’t being until Monday, January 11, 2010, some legislators have already begun “pre-filing” bills. The following pro-rights bills have been filed that affect our Right to Keep and Bear Arms (RKBA):

HB 2015 (Burges) – Adds defensive display of a firearm as an alternative to, or in conjunction with, the use of deadly physical force.

HB 2016 (Burges) – Allows out of state applicants whose rights have been restored to obtain a CCW permit under the same conditions as Arizona residents.

HB 2017 (Burges) – Clarifies that NRA instructors may teach the school gun safety courses.

SB 1011 (Harper) – Allows college/university faculty members with CCW permits to possess a concealed firearm on campus.

SB 1015 (Harper) – Clarifies the “no firearms” signage requirements for restaurants. Also changes the affirmative defense language to “not an offense.” Finally, it restores the requirement that a person “knows the possession of a firearm is prohibited” in an establishment

SB 1021 (Pearce) – Similar to HB 2015.

AzCDL’s representatives have been working with legislators on new bills for a number of months. We are expecting the bulk of these pro-rights bills to be filed after the session officially begins. As they progress, we will keep you informed via these Alerts.

Many of you in the self-defense civil rights community know of Dr. Suzanna Gratia Hupp, the courageous Texas woman who was in Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen Texas in 1991 where her parents were murdered, along with 20 others, by a deranged criminal. She left her pistol in the trunk to comply with then current Texas law. Dr. Hupp went on to spend 10 years in the legislature.

Dr. Hupp will be the featured guest on AzCDL Board Member Charles Heller's radio program America Armed & Free, Sunday, January 3, 2010, from 1-2 PM, where she will discuss her book, "From Luby's To The Legislature."

The program can heard on AM 1030 KVOI in Tucson, AM 930 KAPR in Douglas, and AM 1240, KJAA in Globe. It will also stream live at the KVOI website: http://tinyurl.com/KVOIlivestream. Charles will archive the program at his website: www.libertywatchradio.com/listen .

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

These alerts are a project of the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL), an all volunteer, non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization. Renew today! http://www.azcdl.org/html/join_us_.html

AzCDL – Protecting Your Freedom
http://www.azcdl.org/html/accomplishments.html

Copyright © 2009 Arizona Citizens Defense League, Inc., all rights reserved.

Happy New Year!

My New Year's Resolutions for 2010:

• Constitutional Carry
• Campus Carry
• Throw as many progressives out of office as possible, both Republicans & Democrats.