olsarge and others,
A couple examples in AZ-
The CCW allows drop off and pick-up of kids on school grounds while armed but, the firearm must remain concealed to avoid panic or a lock-down situation. It also allows carry into school zones if the firearm is left inside the vehicle in a locked case, in the trunk if the vehicle has one, before entering the school building. The law specifically points out the issue of being seen locking your firearm up by a non-gunnie and what might transpire after that. It urges "discretion" on how that is done. Never heard of an issue.
A CCW permit also puts you in the DMV database so that if you are stopped by a officer, he immediately knows you have passed an FBI background check for wants and warrants and local offenses. Today, that does wonders lowering stress levels for officers who are getting shot almost daily on simple traffic stops. Knowing that CCW carriers can also legally offer back-up fire for an officer under fire, the officers on the street consider us "allies" in the crime battle. A recent case saw an officer being shot by a criminal on I-10 at night. The armed citizen shot the assailant dead and was heralded by local police and news folks. The officer survived.
Whether you have a CCW or not, in AZ, you are not required to notify the officer you are armed unless he specifically asks.
Arizona Revised Statutes limits the use of deadly force. Protection of property is not allowed in AZ. But a couple of the authorizations are quite thoughtful:
13-411. Justification; use of force in crime prevention; applicability
A. A person is justified in threatening or using both physical force and deadly physical force against another if and to the extent the person reasonably believes that physical force or deadly physical force is immediately necessary to prevent the other's commission of arson of an occupied structure under section 13-1704, burglary in the second or first degree under section 13-1507 or 13-1508, kidnapping under section 13-1304, manslaughter under section 13-1103, second or first degree murder under section 13-1104 or 13-1105, sexual conduct with a minor under section 13-1405, sexual assault under section 13-1406, child molestation under section 13-1410, armed robbery under section 13-1904 or aggravated assault under section 13-1204, subsection A, paragraphs 1 and 2.
B. There is no duty to retreat before threatening or using physical force or deadly physical force justified by subsection A of this section.
C. A person is presumed to be acting reasonably for the purposes of this section if the person is acting to prevent what the person reasonably believes is the imminent or actual commission of any of the offenses listed in subsection A of this section.
D. This section includes the use or threatened use of physical force or deadly physical force in a person's home, residence, place of business, land the person owns or leases, conveyance of any kind, or any other place in this state where a person has a right to be.
Under the robbery clause, if the felon is running away with your prized toaster, he is deemed NOT a threat and any rounds fired his way are illegal. Only those fired as he is in active commission are deemed justified, i.e. entering your home or inside it.
AZ now allows telling someone threatening you that you are armed. You are likewise allowed to "present" the weapon under the above threats as a show of force. (Most states call this "brandishing" a firearm and its a misdemeanor in most states.)
Also, AZ passed a nifty law that says, if someone is committing one of the above felonies and you injure or kill them, they, or their survivors, are prohibited from suing you in civil court. Essentially, you do the crime and you waive all rights to sue anyone who shoots you. This cuts down greatly on nuisance civil suits by people or survivors who want to make the honest citizen pay for defending themselves or others by simply by exercising their rights under the law.
