Email from Arizona Citizens Defense League:
Arizona rated best state for gun owners – again!
For the SEVENTH consecutive year Guns and Ammo magazine has rated Arizona as the #1 state for gun owners. The ratings are published in their November 2019 issue. Click here to view a copy of the ratings.
States were measured by the following criteria:
- Right To Carry
- Treatment of “Black Rifles” (ARs, AKs, etc.)
- Treatment of NFA firearms
- Castle Doctrine
- Miscellaneous issues like preemption statutes, laws and rules that fall outside of the other rated areas, as well as the availability of places to shoot
Arizona’s seventh year #1 rating is primarily because of what AzCDL has accomplished. Prior to AzCDL’s involvement, Arizona’s CCW system was onerous and discouraged applications. Permits were only good for 4 years and required training, testing and additional fingerprinting to renew. Court cases narrowed the interpretation of open carry to a point where the only way to safely openly carry your firearm and avoid arrest was by having a CCW permit. In self-defense situations, the burden of proof was on YOU to prove your innocence – after you admitted to the “crime.” Firearms preemption was Balkanized. Castle doctrine and “no duty to retreat” laws were weak.
AzCDL was created by a handful of activists in 2005 who didn’t like the status quo. By 2010 we achieved Constitutional Carry. CCW permits are now optional and the process to obtain a permit is more realistic. Arizona permits are recognized in the majority of states. Arizona is also one of the few states that recognize all permits from all states – again thanks to AzCDL.
Because of AzCDL’s efforts, you are now “innocent until proven guilty” when defending yourself. Firearms preemption has been strengthened. We were even successful in getting the Arizona Constitution changed to protect law-abiding citizens from law suits when they defend themselves. Visit our Accomplishments and Why AzCDL web pages to learn more about what AzCDL has accomplished.
We are proud that AzCDL’s efforts, with the support of our members, have again garnered this high rating for Arizona from such a prestigious publication. However, from our perspective, there is a lot more that needs to be done to make Arizona truly a free state when it comes to honoring your constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms. With your continued support we can achieve that goal.
End of AzCDL email.
For reference, here are the top five states followed by the bottom five:
1. Arizona
2. Idaho
3. Alaska
4. Kansas
5. Oklahoma
47. California
48. Hawaii
49. New Jersey
50. Massachusetts
51. New York *
* We know there aren’t 51 states, but for the purposes of the survey, the District of Columbia (ranked #46) is included as it’s own entity.