Originally Posted by
az gt eater
I use both open and conceal here in AZ. Open carry when I am in the bad neighborhoods with my family. This always gets people to leave me a space. They know that I HAVE a weapon. I haven't had any problems with any harrassment. I am also smart enough to not go into these areas after dark. I also "open" carry in my car. That means I leave my pistol on the seat. That way if I need it, I can get to it immediately. The other times I open carry is when I am out in the desert. When I run across other people, they first of all have their own weapons. Second of all, they can see that I have one as well. This deters crime. Mainly the reaon I open carry in the desert is the reason I carry it. Rattlesnakes. They are very common, and often will allow the first person to pass before they start buzzing. And when I say pass, I mean within striking distance.
Conceal carry to me usually means that my pistol is concealing my wallet. If someone demands my wallet, I will literally have to move my pistol first. And I am sure you can see how that will turn out. But, I have been in very bad areas of the country, and conceal carry at work. This is where I have no choice but to keep my protection from the eyes of clients if they happen to stop by the job.
As far as AZ gun laws, they are very relaxed. You can drive around downtown Phoenix with a fully loaded AR in your lap with the safety off. Cops don't bat an eye whether you have a pistol on the dash, a rifle in the pass seat, or are open carrying in the gas station 5 feet away from them. I have run through every immigration checkpoint here in the state NUMEROUS times with a pistol right in front of me on the dash, and have NEVER even had an officer ask about it, much less pull me out of line for it.
Latest gun related incident: At work last week here in Phoenix. We are working on an apt complex. Me and my guys are split up into 3 groups of 2 guys each. We are setting our ladders up outside the doors for the apts. One group of my guys had a lady come outside with a shotgun. She stated that she thought someone was trying to break into her apt. The cops showed up about 2 hours later. I spoke with them, and it turns out they were called to service a parenting time issue. Seems the same lady called to have her son returned to her, because her ex wouldn't return her child when he was supposed to. I though they were there about the gun issue. The cop spoke to my two guys and said that as long as she thought there was imminent danger, she had the right to defend herself and her property with lethal force as neccesarry. End of discussion. That means that if someone is trying to steal my car, and I see that, I can use lethal force to stop them.
That is the castle doctrine. It really means that you are not required to back down from any situation where you feel that your life, or property is at risk. There was a huge media backlash when this was signed into law in Florida. But, they were wrong. The rest of the states followed suit after that. The saying now is that only tourists get robbed in FL, because everybody else has guns. AZ is a bad place to go picking on people. I think that most people understand that.... That keeps crime rates down. And the legislation is in effect to back you up if you decide that your property or your life is at risk. I agree fundamentally that you should hit someone before you shoot them, but what if you lose that fight? You may lose your life. The laws say that you have the right to use lethal force.