Legislative Update From Arizona Citizens Defense League

Friday, February 19, was the deadline for bills to be heard in committees in their originating chamber (House or Senate). All the bills we opposed failed to meet the deadline and are dead for the session. Gone are red flag confiscations, universal background checks, ammunition storage requirements, doctors inquiring about your firearms ownership, prohibited possessor expansion, etc. However, don’t think we’ll never see them again. Many of these have been filed year-after-year for several years.

Thanks to AzCDL’s presence at the Capitol, along with our members using the Request to Speak (RTS) system to contact committee members, the following pro-rights bills passed out of their respective committees and are still in play.

HB 2111 – Proposes that any act, law, treaty, rule or regulation of the U.S. Government that violates the Second Amendment would be unenforceable in Arizona.

HB 2551 – With certain exceptions, would exempt CCW permit holders from the prohibition on entering state and local government-controlled property while armed.

HB 2810 – Civil asset forfeiture reform. Would require a criminal conviction in order for the government to confiscate someone’s property.

HB 2827 – Would prohibit business or financial discrimination against a “firearm entity” that supports or is engaged in the lawful commerce of firearms, firearms accessories or ammunition products.

HB 2840 – Would remove the requirement that a firearm must be unloaded when secured in a vehicle on school grounds.

SB 1328 – Almost identical to HB 2111 but contains the added verbiage that any act, law, treaty, rule or regulation of the U.S. Government that violates Article 2, Section 26 of the Arizona Constitution would also be unenforceable in Arizona. Article 2, Section 26 is Arizona’s constitutional protection of our right to bear arms.

SB 1360 – Would reduce hunting and fishing license fees for military veterans and allow the transfer of veteran permits or tags to someone taking wildlife on behalf of a veteran.

SB 1382 – Would classify ammunition and firearms related businesses as “essential” during a state of emergency.

As early as next week, the rubber meets the road. Many of these bills will be scheduled for debates in the full House or Senate. We will be asking you to contact your legislators and urge them to support these bills.

Stay tuned!

*****

These alerts are a project of the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL), an all-volunteer, non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization. AzCDL – Protecting Your Freedom. Copyright © 2021 Arizona Citizens Defense League, Inc., all rights reserved.

This bulletin was first published on February 22, 2021, and is reproduced with permission from Arizona Citizen Defense League.