Category: All Stories

I’m a 22-year-old woman who has never touched a gun in her life, but obtaining a concealed weapons permit in Arizona took me little more than a lunch break and $100.

That’s contrary to what many legislators and officials have said about the CCW process this season, as they’ve debated several pieces of legislation attempting to allow guns into more and more public buildings.

Now I’ll be able to carry that concealed weapon into restaurants that serve alcohol, most national and city parks, near schools—and 36 other states that recognize my permit.

In 2010, legislators voted to water down the CCW permitting process and adopted a campaign for “constitutional carry.”

In Arizona, hip slingers needn’t worry themselves over a permit; if the gun’s visible you’re in the clear—even carrying concealed is allowed permit-free in most places. But to carry a concealed weapon in privileged places—like national parks, restaurants serving alcohol, near schools, and to have your right to carry concealed recognized in 36 other states, you’ve got to get a permit.

There are some requirements: citizenship, being 21 years old, not suffering from mental illness (this isn’t ever evaluated though), never have been convicted of a felony, and having “satisfactorily completed a training program or demonstrated competence with a firearm,” according to state law.

When it comes to expansion of gun rights, Arizona’s legislators are shooting blanks. A number of gun bills cleared the legislature in the past two years but repeatedly met Gov. Jan Brewer’s veto, leading many at the state capitol, even some conservatives, to believe that the gun lobby has milked Arizona dry. Part One: Gun…

When it comes to expansion of gun rights, Arizona’s legislators are shooting blanks.

A number of gun bills cleared the legislature in the past two years but repeatedly met Gov. Jan Brewer’s veto, leading many at the state capitol, even some conservatives, to believe that the gun lobby has milked Arizona dry.

This year, legislators tried to push guns into college campuses and gut local government authority from regulating the use or restriction of firearms. The measures either died in the legislature or were vetoed.

Some hunting measures passed, such as a bill allowing hunters to use high capacity magazines to kill wildlife. Also, hunters can now bring Uzis on hunting trips, as long as they don’t use them on animals.

But the most wide-reaching (and failed) piece of legislation, H.B. 2729, would have nullified any ordinance from local governments imposing stricter regulations on guns than state law, and prohibit further restrictions unless gun lockers were present at every entrance to a public building.

Tequila lovers listen up! The process of getting you your favored spirit is much more complex than it may seem.

Arizona tequila companies such as the Phoenix-based Roger Clyne’s Mexican Moonshine and Luna Malvada Tequila share a passion and commitment to the sometimes-arduous task of producing the one-of-a-kind liquor.