AZCDL: Contact House Leadership

From AZCDL:

Much to the delight of anti-rights legislators and criminal empowerment groups, nearly all the House sponsored pro-rights firearms bills have languished without committee assignments or hearings. Meanwhile similar bills have moved swiftly through the Senate and are now under the control of House Leadership.

Your action is needed to ensure that the Senate bills are acted on.

The following Senate Bills have been assigned to the House Judiciary Committee.

SB 1201, the AzCDL-requested bill that says that if a state or local government building or event is going to post a "No Firearms" sign, then security measures must be in place to ensure that no one is capable of bringing in a firearm without detection.

SB 1391, a bill that would authorize and direct the Governor to enter into interstate compacts with other states that have a “Firearms Freedom Act” like the one that was passed last year in Arizona.

SB 1469, a bill that would strengthen current self-defense statutes by broadening the allowance for the use of force and provide greater protection for those forced tdefend themselves from an attacker.

The committee members need to hear from you, politely urging them to support these bills. A letter has been prepared, addressed to all committee members, and is waiting for you at our Legislative Action Center:
http://capwiz.com/azcdl/issues/alert/?alertid=36472501
Feel free to add text, or send it “as is.” When you are done, complete the “Sender Information” and click on “Send Message.”

Also in the House are the following pro-rights bills that the House Leadership has not yet assigned to a committee. Since House rules impose deadlines on committee hearings, we hope they are not trying to “run out the clock” by delaying assignments until the deadlines have passed.

SB 1467, the AzCDL-requested Campus Carry bill.

SB 1610, a bill that would establish the Colt Single Action Army Revolver as the state firearm.

SCR 1020, a proposed Constitutional Amendment that would protect crime victims from law suits by those who harm them. Assuming it passes out of the legislature, SCR 1020 will be sent to the Secretary of State to be placed on the ballot.

The House Leadership needs to hear from you, politely urging them to assign these bills to the appropriate committees right away. A letter has been prepared,addressed to the entire House Leadership, and is waiting for you at our Legislative Action Center:
http://capwiz.com/azcdl/issues/alert/?alertid=36503501
Feel free to edit the text, or send it “as is.” When you are done, complete the “Sender Information” and click on “Send Message.”

The time for action is now! Your freedom depends on it.

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

A list of the firearms and self-defense related bills, along with links, that AzCDL is
monitoring can be found at our website: http://www.azcdl.org/html/2011_bills.html

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

You can also follow AzCDL on Facebook:
http://tinyurl.com/FacebookAzCDL , and during the legislative session, we send
out updates via Twitter: http://twitter.com/AzCDL_Alerts .

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

LuckyGunner Special on 308 Ammo

LuckyGunner.com is offering a special promotion through Friday March 25th 2011 for $30 off bulk orders of 308 Ammunition. To take advantage of this limited time offer use coupon code "Magtech308-$30OFF" while checking out. Happy St Patrick's Day!

AZ: NRA-ILA Legislative Alert

From the NRA-ILA:

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Session continues in Phoenix and several bills reported previously need your support. The House Judiciary Committee is set to consider two bills important to not only Arizona’s firearm owners.

As reported last week, Senate Bill 1201 passed in the Senate on its final reading by a vote of 21 to 8, with one absent. This pro-gun bill is a comprehensive firearms reform measure which would make a number of improvements to Arizona’s carry laws. Most importantly, it would help put an end to “gun free” signs limiting your right to carry in most currently prohibited places and unsecured buildings. This reasonable right-to-carry reform legislation is designed to prohibit the arbitrary lines created by these signs which currently restrict your right to self-defense.

Also, Senate Bill 1469 had its first reading in the House yesterday and was referred to the House Judiciary Committee for consideration. This important self-defense reform would strengthen the current “Castle Doctrine” self-defense law by broadening the definition of reasonable use of force, including deadly force, to provide greater protection for those forced to defend themselves from an attacker.

Please contact members of the House Judiciary Committee listed here and respectfully urge them to vote in favor of SB 1201 and SB 1469.

Yesterday, the full Senate passed Senate Bill 1467 by a 21 to 7 vote, with two votes absent. With an NRA-backed amendment attached, SB 1467 would prohibit an educational institution from adopting or enforcing any policy prohibiting the possession of a concealed weapon by a permit holder or regulating the lawful transportation or storage of a firearm. SB 1467 will now move to the House for its next committee assignment.

On Monday, March 14, House Bill 2645 successfully passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee by a vote of 7 to 1. The bill is designed to meet the requirements of the federal NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 by enabling persons who have lost their firearm rights because of a mental health-related commitment or adjudication to petition a court to have them restored. Before granting a petition, the court would have to find that the person is not likely to act in a manner that is dangerous to public safety and that granting the requested relief would not be contrary to the public interest. This bill will ensure that people who can safely and responsibly possess firearms are not unnecessarily deprived of their rights.

HB 2645 now moves to the Senate floor to be scheduled for a vote by the full chamber.

Please keep checking your e-mail and www.NRAILA.org for further updates on SB 1467 and HB 2645.

Copyright 2011, 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

AZ: Campus Carry passes out of Senate

SB1467 Campus Carry Passed out of the Senate today 21 to 7 with 2 Senators not voting. It will go to the House next.

AZ 2011 Bills

There are a lot of great firearm related bills being considered in Arizona this year. There are also some bad firearm related bills. You can keep track of all of them from directly from the AZCDL 2011 Legislation Page. Each bill has a brief description and notes whether the AZCDL supports, opposes, or is neutral on the bill. It also has a link to the Arizona Legislature website with current bill status information such as bill text, votes, and even video of any related floor debates or committee hearings.

John Lott on Campus Carry

John R Lott Jr hits it out of the park once again with another great article that describes why attempting to create a so-called "gun free zone" on our college campuses is a ridiculous idea.