This week the Arizona Legislature passed a number of gun laws intended to protect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners.
Governor Brewer this week, signed House Bill 2103 into law. HB 2103 would allow an individual of at least nineteen years of age to obtain a concealed weapon permit if the person is currently in military service or has been honorably discharged. HB 2103 passed in the state Senate by a 20 to 10 vote on Wednesday and in the House by a 39 to 18 vote on March 10.
Also this week, House Bill 2535, introduced by state Representative John Kavanagh, passed out of the House and goes to the Senate. It requires that certification by a chief law enforcement officer (CLEO),” according to the NRA, “when a signoff is required for the transfer of a firearm or other item regulated by the National Firearms Act (NFA), be provided within sixty days as long as the applicant is not prohibited by law from receiving the firearm or other item.”
According to the NRA, “HB 2535 would prevent an arbitrary personal bias from determining Arizona firearm policy and ensure that qualified, law-abiding Arizonans would not be denied their ability to legally possess NFA items.”
The NRA reports that the reforms in HB 2535 would benefit “law-abiding Arizona Second Amendment supporters by ensuring that the process to obtain NFA items already legal in Arizona remains consistent, fact-based and objective. Additionally, HB 2535 would provide an individual who has been denied certification by a CLEO with a written explanation for the denial.”
The Governor signed House Bill 2483 on Wednesday. HB 2483 bans cities, counties and towns from restricting the shooting of guns on private property as long as the nearest occupied structure is more than a quarter-mile away. The bill also sponsored by Kavanagh, passed the Senate on a 16-13 vote Wednesday and had earlier passed the House.
House Bill 2517 is ready for Brewer’s signature. HB 2517 would strengthen Arizona’s firearms preemption law. “Currently, the firearms preemption statute reserves the authority to regulate firearms for the state legislature,” according to the NRA. “The bill would fortify consistency in firearm and ammunition laws through a provision that would impose penalties for willful or knowing violations of this statute by localities.”