We’re now two weeks into the 2021 Arizona legislation session. Over 1,000 bills have been filed. Key bills, and their status, that AzCDL is monitoring can be found on our Bill Tracking page. The final day for Senators to file bills is Monday, February 1. For the House, the final deadline is Monday February 8.
Of the 16 firearms related bills that have been filed so far, 13 have been filed by Democrats attacking your right to keep and bear arms. We guess they forgot that oath they took to defend the U.S. and Arizona Constitutions.
HB 2449, and the proposed identical ballot measure HCR 2012, would make the private transfer of your firearm a felony unless it was conducted through an FFL. “Transfer” is loosely defined and could include handing your firearm to a friend. HB 2651 would take this even further by labeling anyone who doesn’t use an FFL to transfer their firearm an illegal “firearms trafficker.” Among the long litany of additional onerous state regulations in HB 2651 are limiting your firearms purchases to one per month, requiring the visual and audio recording of sales and maintaining a database of the guns you buy.
Among the other attacks on your constitutionally guaranteed rights are:
HB 2248 & SB 1285 which would require a 3-day waiting period on the purchase of a firearm.
HB 2451, a proposed “Red Flag” law that uses civil proceedings to forcibly confiscate your firearms based on claims from family members or school officials, with virtually no recourse or appeals.
HB 2452 which would outlaw the mere possession of a bump stock or “any part, combination of parts, component, device, attachment or accessory that is designed or functions to accelerate the rate of fire of a semiautomatic rifle.” That could include that aftermarket trigger you bought to smooth out your trigger press, since it can function to accelerate the rate of fire.
HB 2582 which would create a $1,000 civil penalty (a substantially reduced standard of evidence) if you don’t have your firearm or ammunition locked away at home.
In contrast to the volley of anti-rights bills filed by the Democrats, the Republicans have managed to come up with 3 bills that actually protect your rights.
HB 2111 and SB 1328 are nearly identical. Both propose that any act, law, treaty, rule or regulation of the U.S. Government that violates the Second Amendment would be unenforceable in Arizona. Additionally, state and local government resources could not be used to enforce any act, law, treaty, rule or regulation of the U.S. Government that violates the Second Amendment. SB 1328 adds any law, etc. that violates Article 2, Section 26 of the Arizona Constitution (your Arizona right to bear arms).
HB 2551 would, with certain exceptions, exempt CCW permit holders from the prohibition on entering state and local government-controlled property while armed.
We’ll see more bills, good and bad, filed in the coming weeks. Following the deadline for filing new legislation, all bills must be heard by committees in their originating chambers (House or Senate) by February 19.