Catalina, AZ –-(Ammoland.com)- In 2010, the Nevada Sheriff’s & Chief’s Association (NvSCA), which has broad regulatory authority over the Nevada CCW process, chose to honor Arizona CCW permits in Nevada.
In March of 2013, NvSCA rescinded their recognition of Arizona permits claiming Arizona’s permit training requirements were not meeting the stringent standards required for Nevada permits after the passage of Arizona’s Constitutional Carry law, which also updated our permit requirements.
Ever since then, falsehoods have been spread that Constitutional Carry has damaged Arizona’s reciprocity with other states and that Arizona needs to return to the bad old days of government defined training and State anointed instructors.
Here are the facts….. In 2006, an Arizona Citizens Defense League – requested law was passed that universally recognized permits issued by all other states. As a result Arizona became one of the most “recognized” of all permits.
Thirty four states (not counting Vermont) honored Arizona’s permit before Nevada was added as number thirty five in 2010.
Currently those same thirty four states recognize Arizona’s permit after Nevada changed its mind. The list is here: https://www.azdps.gov/Services/Concealed_Weapons/Reciprocity/ Arizona’s CCW laws, like those of several other states, mirror Florida’s which has issued over 1 Million CCW permits, held by citizens in probably every state of the Union, and is the “gold standard” for CCW permit laws.
Prior to recognizing Arizona permits, Nevada recognized Florida permits. In 2009 Nevada rescinded Florida recognition, not because of their training requirements , but because Florida ex- tended their permit expiration from 5 to 7 years.
In 2009, Nevada also rescinded recognition of Utah’s permit which, from what we understand, made no significant changes to their laws.
Currently, Nevada only recognizes 15 permits. Meanwhile, Arizona recognizes all permits from all states that issue them and, with our Constitutional Carry law, recognizes the right, of any citizen from any state, to carry openly or discreetly regardless of whether or not they possess a government issued permission slip (i.e., permit).
The solution to Nevada’s low rate of reciprocity is for them to follow Arizona’s lead and recognize all permits from all states. It is not for Arizona to become more like Nevada as some have suggested.
We are appalled that there are Arizona gun owners willing to sacrifice our state’s right to carry so that they may be granted the privilege to carry in states with more restrictive gun laws. How many more of your freedoms are they willing to sacrifice for a government handout?
When the AzCDL – requested Constitutional Carry law was passed in 2010, over 156,000 CCW permits had been issued in Arizona. As of the end of October, in a state where a CCW permit is optional, the number of Arizona CCW permits has climbed to almost 209,000. That tells us that Arizona’s CCW permit is in high demand, probably because of its recognition by other states.
To be perfectly clear, AzCDL has no intention of supporting any legislation that returns Arizona to the bad old days of restricted rights and limited CCW permit accessibility.
AzCDL’s goal is to move Arizona’s gun laws forward, not backwards. We are committed to working for the passage of laws that recognize that law – abiding citizens have the right to carry a firearm openly or discreetly wherever they have a right to be.
About:
Arizona Citizens Defense League believes that the emphasis of gun laws should be on criminal misuse and that law-abiding citizens should be able to own and carry firearms unaffected by unnecessary laws or regulations. AzCDL was founded by a group of local activists who recognized that a sustained, coordinated, statewide effort was critical to protecting and expanding the rights of law-abiding gun owners. As a like-minded coalition of activists, the AzCDL founders were instrumental in the successful passage of the first major improvement to Arizona’s CCW (concealed carry) laws since they were instituted in 1994. Visit: www.azcdl.org