SHOOTOUT AT THE OK CORRAL?

On Thursday, a new Arizona law goes into effect that allows residents to carry concealed weapons without having to take any training or having g to obtain a CCW license. The anti-gun crowd is already yelling chicken-little by predicting that Arizona will become one big shootout at the OK corral.
　
No such thing will happen. My prediction is that Arizona will not return to the days of ‘The Wild West.’ The training required in those states that issue CCW licenses consists of a brief firearms course, shooting at a stationary target with a required minimum score, and instructions on when the law prohibits and allows shooting at a person.
　
As far as I’m concerned, the instructions on covering the laws is the only part of the training that has any value. Requiring a minimum score while shooting at a stationary target has no value because it has no relevance to the common confrontation where the adrenaline is flowing and the life-threatening adversary will most likely be moving.
　
PACKING HEAT IN AZ TO BECOME EASIER SOON
New law taking effect, allowing concealed weapons, no training
　
By Clayton R. Norman
　
Arizona Daily Star
July 25, 2010
　
The Wild West is about to get wilder - on Thursday, Arizona will join Alaska and Vermont as one of the states with the country's most liberal gun laws.
　
Senate Bill 1108 removes the requirement that gun owners must be trained and licensed to carry a concealed weapon.
　
Arizona already allows for "open carry" - anyone not legally prohibited from possessing a firearm, such as convicted felons or those adjudicated mentally incompetent, can carry firearms in public as long as they are clearly visible. After Thursday, the requirement that weapons be displayed openly will be dropped, and anyone who is not a "prohibited possessor" will be able to carry concealed weapons.
　
The new law will not remove restrictions on places where it is forbidden to carry weapons, including schools, hydroelectric or nuclear power plants, polling places, federal buildings or businesses that have posted specific signs prohibiting weapons. Establishments that serve alcohol will still be "no-carry" zones for those without a concealed-weapons permit, and gun owners will not be allowed to drink alcohol while carrying a weapon.
　
Also, anyone who carries a concealed firearm over the state line will need a concealed-weapons permit to avoid violating other states' handgun laws.

Despite the caveats, the new law enhances Arizonans' freedom, said Charles Heller, a radio talk-show host.
　
Heller is a concealed-weapons course instructor and secretary of the Arizona Citizen's Defense League, a group whose efforts are directed at "expanding the rights of law-abiding gun owners." He says the freedom to carry weapons and defend oneself from attackers is at the heart of the law.
　
Once the law takes effect, he said, "Innocent people aren't going to be harassed because their purse got set down on a car seat (and accidentally covered an openly displayed weapon) or their shirttail came out" and covered an openly carried weapon.
　
Heller said the law also removes a barrier to people who might want to carry concealed weapons but don't have the time or money to invest in a training course. Currently, a CCW - carrying a concealed weapon - course costs about $80 plus another $60 to the Department of Public Safety to issue the permit.
　
There are nearly 160,000 active concealed weapons permits in Arizona, DPS statistics show. About 26,000 of them - 16 percent - are held in Pima County.
　
DPS spokesman Bart Graves said the agency expects a decrease in applications for concealed-weapons permits once the law goes into effect. But he, along with many supporters of the new law, said he hopes people who want to carry weapons will still seek out some form of training.