Arizona: Legally carried guns allowed to carry into a bar that serves alcohol

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September 29, 2009, will be a big day for concealed carry permit holders in Arizona. For the first time since the passage of Arizona's concealed carry legislation in 1994, permit holders will be able to legally carry their concealed firearms into a restaurant or bar that serves alcohol.

While permit holders will not be permitted to consume alcohol, they will be able to exercise their constitutionally guaranteed right to self defense should the need arise. For the past 15 years this has not been the case. Arizona's original concealed carry laws prohibited anyone from carrying a firearm into any establishment that served alcohol for consumption "on the premises".

While the original intent was to maintain a separation of firearms and alcohol consumption, the actual effect was to disarm otherwise law abiding citizens who wished to dine out while maintaining possession of their legally carried firearms.



AZ DLLC's signage for restaurants wishing to prohibit firearms

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Mark DeSimone, owner of Hidden House bar, places several warning signs up at different entrances of his bar not allowing patrons to bring guns inside Thursday, Sept. 24, 2009, in Phoenix. In a new law that takes effect on Wednesday, bar and restaurant owners have to deal with patrons now legally being allowed to carry concealed weapons into establishments that serve alcohol. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) (Ross D. Franklin - AP)

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by ChattahBox.com

Arizona’s Wild West mentality has come under criticism recently when resident Chris Broughton, arrived armed with an AR-15 rifle and a handgun to an Obama town hall event. Broughton also wants President Obama to die.

He belongs to the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, where the Pastor Steve Anderson is praying for Obama “to die and go to hell.” Broughton recently stated in response to a reporter’s question about his wish for President Obama to die that “It would be better now than later.”

Anderson’s parishoners arrive to services armed with not only their bibles, but also their guns.

In response to the disturbing display of armed residents at a presidential event, Arthur Frommer of the popular Frommer’s Travel Guides advised tourists to be leery of traveling to the heat-packing state.

“I will begin thinking about whether tourists should safeguard themselves by avoiding stays in Arizona,” said Frommer.

Meanwhile, gun-toting bar patrons can now eat their hamburgers armed and ready for any signs of danger, like a fellow bar patron pinching one of their french fries.

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Wild West Mentality Thrives in Arizona: New Guns in Bars Law | ChattahBox News Blog

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Seven years after a student shot and killed three nursing professors at the University of Arizona, a new law allows guns on campus.

The law states anyone with a state-issued concealed weapons permit to have a gun on campus as long as it's locked up inside a vehicle.

Some students like Blythe Tarbox, don't like the new law. "Just having the mobility of having that gun in your car or near a parking garage where my dorm is, it just doesn't seem right to me," Tarbox said. Todd Hanley, general manager for Hotel Congress and Maynards Market, says it doesn't seem right to him either to allow guns inside their establishments. That's why he's posting signs in the windows, which say "No Firearms Allowed."

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Under new law, guns allowed on campus, in bars - KVOA News 4, Tucson, Arizona

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State and local gun control laws

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The Arizona law highlights how gun owners can carry weapons to a growing number of places, from national parks to bars. Other venues, like churches, are now a part of the debate.

Congress

Beyond Arizona, Congress voted earlier this summer to allow concealed weapons in national parks. Last week, the Senate voted to allow guns in the checked baggage of Amtrak trains, despite warnings from the company that it would produce “numerous challenges.”

While guns are allowed in the checked luggage of airplanes, Amtrak has not allowed guns on broad its trains since 9/11.

“Americans should not have their Second Amendment rights restricted for any reason, particularly if they choose to travel on America’s federally subsidized rail line,” said Sen. Roger Wicker (R) of Mississippi in a statement.

Oh lovely. Booze and guns. We all know how harmless that combination is. How ludicrous a society we live in these days.