The measure takes effect 90 days after the current legislative session ends, which likely puts the effective date in July or August.
"I believe this legislation not only protects the Second Amendment rights of Arizona citizens, but restores those rights as well," Brewer, a Republican, said in a statement. Alaska and Vermont now do not require permits to carry concealed weapons.
By eliminating the permit requirement, the Arizona legislation will allow people 21 or older to forego background checks and classes that are now required. Supporters say the bill promotes constitutional rights and allows people to protect themselves from criminals, while critics worry it will lead to more shootings as people with less training have fewer restrictions on carrying weapons....
Arizona's permissive gun laws gained national attention last year when a man openly carried a semiautomatic rifle to a Phoenix protest outside a speech by President Barack Obama.
Nearly all adults can already carry a weapon openly in Arizona, and supporters of looser laws argue that gun owners shouldn't face additional restrictions just because they want to hide the weapon.
Under the Arizona legislation, people carrying a concealed weapon will be required to tell a police officer that if asked, and the officer can temporarily take the weapon while communicating with the person.
More than 154,000 people have permits to carry a concealed weapon in Arizona."
All of that leads me to ask this simple question:
WHERE THE FUCK WERE ALL THOSE ALL-ABIDING, GUN-TOTING CITIZENS TODAY? When Representative Gabrielle Giffords, AND Federal Judge John Roll, AND a 9-year-old girl, AND others were shot in broad daylight? HUH????????
According to factual, accurate news sources, an elderly man and a Giffords staff member tackled the gunman as he fled the scene [1/9 update: when the shooter ran out of bullets in his first magazine, a brave woman, who had already been shot, reached up and grabbed the new magazine out of his hands. Shortly after, he was tackled]. I say factual because as I searched for information via Google, there are already postings from the extremes who are exploiting this tragedy for their own gain.
Good lord, when will we ever learn?
