10 years of CCW in AZ: No data to suggest increase in gun crime

July 10, 2004
Arizona Daily Star

Ten years after it became legal to carry a concealed weapon in Arizona with a permit, proponents say the law has been an absolute success, increasing self-defense options for law-abiding adults without a consequential increase in crime.

While law enforcement officials still keep a close eye on the process and opponents continue to fight attempts to ease requirements to get the permits, there are no real data to suggest the program has led to more gun crime.

Since the state Department of Public Safety began taking applications for the permits in July 1994, more than 120,000 have been issued.

As of May, 67,951 Arizona residents had active permits and 2,311 residents of other states also had Arizona permits, DPS statistics show.

More than half of the permits - 36,520 - are held by Maricopa County residents. Pima County is second with 12,107 permits, about 18 percent of those in the state.

A permit is suspended if a person is arrested on a felony or a domestic violence misdemeanor and then revoked upon a conviction. About 1 percent of the permits have been suspended or revoked, though roughly 40 percent of permits aren't renewed for various reasons, including waning interest or death.

Among permit holders, the two largest demographic groups are white or Hispanic men in their 40s and 50s, who combine for 36 percent of all permits. Women make up 20 percent of the permit holders, with the majority of them also being in their 40s and 50s.

The highest concentration of concealed-weapon carriers is in the Glendale 85308 zip code, with 1,042 permit holders. Scottsdale's 85254 zip code is second with 906 permit holders. Tucson's East Side 85710 zip code is third with 839 permit holders.

"A model for other states"

"We feel the program has done very well over the past 10 years," said Sgt. Bill Whalen, supervisor of the DPS Concealed Weapon Permit Unit. "The program has served as a model for other states."

There has been no analysis of whether the concealed-weapon law has had any effect on crime, Whalen said, but nearly everything he's heard points to the vast majority of permit holders as responsible gun owners focused on safety.

"All the people who get concealed weapon permits are law-abiding citizens. These are the people who aren't getting in trouble," Whalen said. "The people who don't care for laws, in general, don't get permits."

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Everyone who applies for a permit must complete a training program that covers gun safety, marksmanship and laws regarding use of force.

Judges have even ordered people to take the course after minor gun violations because it is so thorough, Whalen said.

Any U.S. citizen or permanent resident alien over 21 years old with no felony convictions can get a permit to carry a concealed weapon by submitting fingerprints for a criminal background check and completing a 16-hour firearms safety course, under the law. The $50 permits must be renewed every four years.

The bill passed both houses of the Legislature by large margins, 44-16 in the House and 23-4 in the Senate. The measure was signed into law in April 1994 by then Gov. Fife Symington and took effect the following July. The first permits were issued three months later.

Arizona law recognizes concealed-weapons permits from 28 other states, while there are 23 states that recognize Arizona permits, Whalen said.

There have been "virtually no problems" with the law, said Pima County Superior Court Clerk Patti Noland, who sponsored the legislation as the Republican chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"A lot of the critics that didn't want to see this happen thought there'd be blood running in the streets, and that just hasn't happened," she said.

Noland, who has renewed her permit twice, said the law encourages responsibility and safety with firearms.

"One of the things we wanted people to do is become better educated about our laws and better able to handle a weapon," she said. "They know a lot more about protecting themselves and what the law says about using deadly force."

Several changes proposed

The debate over concealed weapons in Arizona continues.

Among the proposed changes to the law in recent years: establish lifetime permits; reduce the fine for illegally carrying a concealed weapon from $2,500 to $50; allow people with permits to carry weapons in establishments that serve alcohol; and reduce the mandatory training hours.

None of the measures haspassed, but some of them might return to the Legislature.

"Every single year they've come back to the state Legislature and tried to weaken the law. They'll be back next year, they always are," said Gerry Anderson, executive director of Arizonans for Gun Safety, an advocacy group created to prevent gun violence.

Anderson said Arizona has one of the better concealed-carry laws in the country, with thorough criminal background checks, training and four-year renewal periods.

"Proponents say it's been fabulous and crime has gone down, but it's all very anecdotal," she said. "Crime statistics depend on so many multiple variables."

Anderson said her group's opposition isn't directed at the law so much as the repeated attempts to change it.

"The current law seems to be working relatively well," she said. "I couldn't tell you that it has been a complete disaster or a complete success, but we certainly don't want it to be any weaker."

Former legislator Elaine Richardson, a Tucson Democrat who gave the bill a "strong no" vote while serving in the House of Representatives, said she isn't sure what has been shown as far as effects of the law, but her feelings haven't changed.

"I'm as strongly opposed to it as I was 10 years ago," Richardson said. "If I go to the grocery store or someplace and somebody has a weapon, I want to know about it."

Richardson said she "certainly didn't want to take away anybody's right to bear arms," but opposition to the bill did bring about some reasonable prohibitions. For example, people cannot have concealed weapons in certain locations, such as schools and businesses that serve alcohol. And people with misdemeanor domestic violence convictions or who are under court orders cannot obtain permits.

Richardson said her opposition is simple. "I just think if somebody has a weapon, then show it," she said.

Todd Rathner, a Tucsonan on the board of directors of the National Rifle Association, called the law a "huge success story."

"Here we are, 10 years later, some 60,000 permits later, and it's working well for law-abiding citizens and for law enforcement," he said. "The anti-gun naysayers were completely wrong when they predicted shootouts over parking spaces and testified about 'blood in the streets.' "

Training is a key to law

Craig Gordon, a former law enforcement officer and certified instructor, said people get permits for a variety of reasons. Some have been victims of crime, some are women who want to defend themselves against an assault, some are hikers who want to be within the law if they cover their holster with a jacket in cold weather.

"I've put a lot of bad people in jail and to continue to be able to carry a gun for my personal protection made sense to me," Gordon said, adding that others get permits more for the education and rarely carry a gun.

Chuck Larson, an employee at Jensen's Arizona Sportsman who has had his permit for about a year, called the training "two extremely interesting days" and said everybody leaves with a firm understanding of the law and responsibilities.

"You start to understand the aspects of the law, when you can use deadly force, why and where, because it's an extreme responsibility," he said. "I see people's attitude change after the class. They're not so cavalier, they're humbled and thoughtful. That's great; it's very beneficial."

Wendy Pennington, 34, is taking the training course for a permit because she hears shots at least once a week in her neighborhood. "I'd rather have one and not need it than need it and not have it," she said.

Ann Larsen, 44, said she is taking the training for the permit strictly for knowledge and that while she owns a gun, she doesn't plan on carrying it, concealed or otherwise.

"The concentrated information is the key to the class. I want the information and to learn how to shoot correctly, but that doesn't necessarily mean I want to carry it," she said.

"I have a lot of mixed feelings about carrying a gun in the first place," she said. "Everybody has their own choice to do what they want to do. I think it's fine to have the law that way."