Guns in Arizona: An Arizona Republic special report

President Barack Obama

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Obama push for gun controls reaches dead end


Special report

Gunslinger attitude

From untamed territorial days to contentious present, concerns over safety, access and individual rights have shaped Arizona's attitude.

Arizona's Stories

A passion for guns

Those who collect guns are fueled by the same passion and fervor as those who collect cars, baseball cards or nearly anything else.

Photos: Gun show portraits

Gun laws timeline

A look at the last 20 years of gun legislation in Arizona.

Video: Civil War Reenactment

Reenactors relived the Battles of Valverde, Glorietta Pass and Picacho Pass.

Video: High Noon in Tombstone

Competition requires contestants to use guns typical of the Old West.


Debates over gun laws in Arizona are older than the state itself. In the 1880s, three decades before Arizona became a state, Tombstone and other towns adopted gun-control ordinances. But after statehood, those measures were overturned as Second Amendment violations.

At Arizona's constitutional convention in 1911, a proposal to regulate the wearing of firearms in the newly created state was voted down.

Beginning in the 1960s, assassinations and mass shootings nationwide spawned a broader call for control of firearms, especially handguns. Arizona prohibited concealed weapons.

Three decades later, though, the pendulum began to swing the other way, with Arizona lawmakers beginning to ease restrictions on gun possession and ownership. Today, the state's laws are considered among the most gun-friendly in the country.

Here is a look at some of the key gun laws in Arizona since 1991:


• Law takes effect strengthening the state's prohibition against carrying weapons on school campuses. It bans anyone, including security guards, from carrying guns or other deadly weapons on a school campus, except for such school-sponsored events as gun-safety classes.


July: Law takes effect that allows most adults in the state to carry a concealed weapon by getting a $50 permit.

October: State begins conducting criminal background checks for handgun sales.


• Law takes effect letting people with concealed-weapons permits carry firearms in public parks. Also lets communities ban weapons in public buildings but says that if they do so, they must offer to store the weapon.

• "Shannon's Law," named for a 14-year-old girl killed by a falling bullet in 1999, increases the penalty for random gunfire from a misdemeanor to a felony.


• Gov. Janet Napolitano signs a bill into law that lets gun owners visiting Arizona carry concealed weapons if they have a permit from their home state.


• Gov. Janet Napolitano vetoes a bill that would have let patrons carry loaded guns into bars, nightclubs and restaurants as long as they didn't imbibe.

• She signs a bill that lets schools offer a one-semester elective course in firearms marksmanship to be called the "Arizona Gun Safety Program Course," including instruction on gun safety and basic operation, the history of firearms, the role of firearms in preserving peace and freedom, marksmanship and the constitutional roots of the right to bear arms.


Lawmakers pass 20 new laws involving guns. Among the more notable:

• A law that eliminated a two-hour class once required for renewing a concealed-weapon permit. The permit still must be renewed every five years.

• A measure that says walking into a hunter's gunfire will be fault of the guy who gets shot, not the shooter. A person putting himself in the line of fire can be charged with a misdemeanor.

• A law that makes it more difficult to prosecute someone who claims self-defense after shooting a home intruder by shifting the burden of proof to the prosecution instead of requiring the person to prove he or she acted in self-defense.

• A measure that generally prohibits the state, except for the Legislature, and local governments from creating new laws or rules relating to the possession or storage of firearms. It expands on the state's existing restrictions on local laws dealing with transportation, possession, sale and use of guns.


• Gov. Janet Napolitano vetoes a bill that would have allowed people to have a hidden gun in vehicles without a concealed-carry permit.


• Law takes effect letting those carrying concealed weapons go into bars and restaurants that are licensed to sell alcohol, as long as they don't drink. If those bar and restaurant owners don't want guns on the property, they must post a sign indicating that they are not allowed.

• Another law prohibits property owners and businesses from banning firearms in their parking areas, as long as the guns are locked in privately owned vehicles.


• Law takes effect letting Arizona residents at least 21 years old carry a concealed weapon without a permit. It requires individuals to answer honestly if police ask if they are carrying a weapon and lets officers to take temporary custody of a weapon during stops. It also stiffens penalties for individuals who commit crimes while carrying a concealed weapon.

Other laws take effect:

• Prohibiting any county or local political agency from enacting any ordinance relating to firearms that is more restrictive than state law. This law also prohibits local governments from banning firearms in public parks.

• Saying Arizona-based firearm makers and owners Personal firearms, firearms accessories or ammunition manufactured in Arizona and kept in Arizona are not subject to federal regulation, including registration.


• Gov. Jan Brewer vetoes two gun-related measures. One bill would have required state and local governments to either allow guns in public facilities or secure those buildings with metal detectors and armed guards. Another would have allowed guns on college-campus rights of way.

• Brewer signs a law making the Colt Single-Action Army revolver the state's official firearm.

Compiled by researcher Joanne Dawson from Republic archives.