Is AZ the best state to live in if you value the 2nd amendment?

This popped up on the Cheaper than dirt blog a few days ago. Seems us AZ gun owners are a lot luckier than we think we are!! This piece is about changes in MA.

As gun owners and supporters of the Second Amendment we are used to lawmakers and public officials coming up with new ways to subvert the law and enact defacto gun control. That being said, the Chief of Police of Lowell, Massachusetts, has set the bar to a new low.

Massachusetts’ law mandates that it is an, “unrestricted right-to-carry” gun permit state. However, the police chief still has to issue the permit. In this case, the chief of the Lowell, Massachusetts Police Department has mandated that the residents of Lowell submit a written essay to the chief of police that explains just why they want that particular right. To actually receive the permit, the applicant must receive a passing grade.

The whole “shall not be infringed argument” is self-explanatory and needs no further explanation here, but how can anyone even conceive an essay requirement as a fair judge of whether to issue an “unrestricted right-to-carry” gun permit? I have read more than one report from police officers… based on their writing skills, more than a few would not have qualified to carry a firearm. However, that is not to say they were not good coppers. There is a lot that goes in to writing a report or an essay, including time, sleep, stressors, and education to name a few, but none of those have anything to do with the restriction of a Constitutional right.

English, writing skills, grammar, they are all subjective to the interpretation of the reader. Even the SAT, the standard requirement to enter most four-year universities, requires multiple readers to grade an essay, but not in Lowell. In Lowell, the Chief merely makes up a rule and assigns a reader. In fairness, the Chief did not make the rule, he merely brought it up to the city council who approved it, but you get the idea. Adding insult to injury, in addition to the essay requirement, the residents of Lowell are also required to pay up to $1,100 for firearms training in order to obtain their permit.

The Local Perspective Once the story broke, The Shooter’s Log immediately went to Mike Pelonzi, President of Magnum Anti Ballistic Systems Corporation. Beyond making some of the most innovative ballistic panels (Check back in the next couple of weeks for a story on Pelonzi’s ballistic solutions), Pelonzi is also a certified firearms training instructor in Massachusetts, which him an ideal candidate for a local perspective. Pelonzi said, to be certified as a firearms instructor, you have to submit all of your training certificates and a written lesson plan to the Colonel of the MA State Police. Once approved, you are certified to teach the course. Students seeking a CCW who successfully pass that course are and issued a MA certificate, which is supposed to be—and was until now—accepted through all police departments in the state.

However, Lowell, MA, Police Chief William Taylor’s new plan calls for additional requirements such as the essay and fees up to $1,100. Although the details are a bit vague as the department’s website has not yet been updated, it is rumored that the increase in fees is due to the Chief’s requirement that citizens be required to take a class taught by the police department instead of private instructors. Pelonzi noted that the average firearms safety class costs between $75 and $125, plus $100 for the license application fee. Pelonzi concluded the interview by noting, criminals do not take firearm safety classes. We already have a system that requires training and an application that goes through a full NICS background check. Lowell’s new requirements add a burden to the law-abiding citizens and potentially denies them of their Constitutional rights, but does nothing to deter crime.

Jim Wallace with the Gun Owners Action League of Massachusetts released this statement: “It is absurd that people should have to write an essay to the town to explain why they should be able to exercise their constitutional rights. We already have a very strict set of gun laws in the state, but this is way over the top. It’s like having a college professor say, ‘I’m going to read your essay and if I don’t like it, I’m going to give it back to you.’” “We’re no longer taking a cookie-cutter approach to issuing firearms licenses,” he said, in the Lowell Sun.

More time? More time for what? How is more time than the law dictates and burdensome, unnecessary requirements anything more than discrimination and an unlawful requirement to enact backdoor gun control by either denying citizens of their Constitutional rights or at a minimum delaying those rights?

Don't be a victim!

Did you know you do NOT have to be a US citizen to own a firearm? Did you know that if you are an overseas student stuying in the US, so long as you have the correct paperwork, you can own a gun in Arizona? After the tragic events in Mesa last week, it really underlines that no matter how good and diligent the police force, there are times when the only person you can rely on to save your own life, is YOU.

You can be careful, you can be vigilant, but you cannot eliminate the risk of an unexpected event, by someone with their own agenda, who put's your life, and that of your family and friends at risk. Carrying a gun is not odd or strange, it doesn't make you a a gun wielding maniac, it doesn't and it doesn't mean you are looking for trouble. It simply means you are taking reasonable steps to address an issue or risk that may threaten the safety of you and your family.

I bet most of you have a fire extinguisher & smoke alarms in your house, airbags and seat belts in your car, but I would also guess that most of you have never had a house fire, or a car accident. because you are prepared doesn't mean you want a fire or car accident, it just means you are prepared. Carrying a firearm and training to use it is simply a precaution, no more sinister or dangerous than wearing a seat belt, or putting a fire extinguisher in your kitchen.

If you want to learn more about what firearm would suit you best, what you need to own one, and what training path would suit you, just email Paul, and I will be happy to help you work out what is best for you. Our re-vamped Concealed classes can teach you when you can and when you shouldn't use your firearm, and is all you need to apply to AZDPS for your CCW permit. Use that as a spring board to making 2016 the year of training, and making sure you and your loved ones are safe!

What does 2016 hold for the shooting sports, and gun ownership?

The tail end of 2015 saw events which once again bought firearm ownership, purchase and sale back into the spotlight. Here at Caswells, we have seen a huge rise in people shooting and buying their first firearm, and importantly, seeking training both legal in the form of concealed carry classes, and in how to safely use a firearm, in the form of our P100 and P200 classes.

The industry is now faced once again with executive actions to address perceived issues in firearm purchase and ownership. It seems that the "gunshow loophole" will be addressed in some form by requiring some kind of background check for private purchasers of firearms in private sales, and restrictions on those selling firearms as a business, but without an FFL.

I am at a loss to understand how someone carries on a business buying and selling guns without an FFL, but leaving that to one side for a moment, do you think that background checks for anyone buying a firearm in a private transaction is a good idea, or do you think it goes to far? Do you think that people seeking training is a good idea, and that more people should invest in training so they can not only get the best from their gun, but use and store it safely?

I look forward to your comments.

Welcome to 2016!!

With the holidays over, now is the time to find the shooting sports!

Isn't it time that you discovered America's most popular pastime, but in a safe and friendly envoronment? You can learn about firearms, what firearm would suit you, and the purpose you have for it. You can train to get the best from your firearm, whilst keeping yourself and your family safe. Infact we can take you from beginner to a competitive marksman in a suprising short time!

Come on down and say hi!!