Senate Constitutional Carry Bill Awaits Consideration in Arizona!

At this time, Senate Bill 1108 is awaiting action in the Senate Committee of the Whole (COW) before its third and final reading later this week.  SB1108 is the companion bill to House Bill 2347, which is currently making its way through the House.  

Currently, under Arizona law it is generally legal to carry a firearm openly as long as you are 18 years of age and not prohibited from possessing a firearm.  However, if the firearm becomes covered, say with a coat, or if you are a woman and prefer to carry your firearm in your purse, you need to possess a concealed carry permit. While it may seem simple for the average male to open carry, we shall not discriminate against women and those who are unable to conventionally carry a firearm.  The intent of this legislation is to give people the greatest possible freedom to choose the best method of carry for them, based on attire, sex, and or physical attributes.    

Back in 1994, when the original Right-to-Carry bill passed, opponents made outrageous claims that there would be shootouts in the streets, and that the murder rate would skyrocket.  Opponents to the original Right-to-Carry bill, such as a large number of law enforcement groups, can now freely admit that none of these radical predictions have come true. In Arizona, 16 years after the passage of its original concealed carry law, the murder rate has gone down as the carry rate has gone up.  Today, nearly all law enforcement organizations are neutral on SB 1108.

Under Arizona’s current constitution, Article 2, Section 26 clearly states that “The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself or the state shall not be impaired…”  The intention here could not be more clear.

Please contact your State Senator and respectfully urge him or her to support the amended version of SB 1108.  Contact information can be found by clicking here.