Arizona is on the verge of joining Alaska and Vermont as the only states allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons without a permit with few exceptions. This is a good trend and while the democratic controlled government in Tennessee will never go for it, the idea of it here thrills me.
Now there are some
sensible arguments for training by some in Arizona.
Firearms instructor Dave Gushert said that training was important, and that the new bill might be a problem. In addition to safety, he said people carrying firearms should also know the laws about when it is legal to use a gun for self defense.
"Everybody thinks Arizona is the wild west and that you can just draw from the hip and go, and this is going to get a lot of people hurt or in trouble," Gushert said.
I agree and the old saying "ignorance of the law is no excuse" really does apply here, and since this likely would be a life and death situation training is paramount. I think if you feel you want to carry you would be dumb not to know the ins-and-outs of what is proper LEGAL use of a handgun for self defense.
The other main issue is the idiots. Like this guy in Arizona...
poster boy for the Brady Group.
During the investigation, witnesses told officers 30-year-old David Walter, of Surprise, entered the store with a semi-automatic pistol in a holster. He would reportedly holster the gun and un-holster it as he walked through the store. Witnesses say the suspect ‘continually messed with’ and was manipulating the gun.
Walter was standing at the electronics counter talking to the clerk when he reportedly pulled the gun out of the holster, removed the magazine and put it back in. The clerk got scared and said she was afraid he was going to rob her and notified the store manager.
Walter again allegedly approached a checkout lane and stood near several customers and workers as he pulled the gun from his holster. As he pulled the gun out it magazine dislodged and fell to the floor.
Walter re-inserted the magazine into the pistol and manipulated it as if loading it when the gun discharged.
Luckily only some ceiling tiles died in his idiot usage, but what the hell ... "magazine dislodged and fell to the floor" and even with that info they did not take the time to tell what type of handgun has the ultimate in self-dropping magazines.
These are the people that leave me with a small fractional desire to have carry permits required. Then reality, the ideas of individual rights, and etc. kick in and I fall fully back into the Vermont carry camp...but those ideas caused a terrifying 2-3 seconds.
Good luck Arizona...can Tennessee borrow you Governer?