For the third straight year, Guns and Ammo has named Arizona the best state for gun owners, awarding maximum points in each of five categories.
Despite Arizona’s overwhelmingly pro-gun climate, not everyone was celebrating. Brady Campaign President Dan Gross derided Arizona’s “lax gun policies,” saying, “‘Best’ should be reserved for those states that promote responsible gun ownership and gun sales practices.”
To claim that Arizona doesn’t do these things is dubious at best. Arizona has to follow federal laws governing firearms sales—and the presence of nearly 70 NRA-certified firearms instructors and a little place called Gunsite Academy illustrate exactly how seriously Arizonans take their responsibilities as gun owners.
Brady also claims Arizona’s pro-gun laws make it the easiest state for criminals to obtain firearms. That’s an errant conclusion, given that the top gun homicide rate was actually in Washington, D.C., where Brady might as well have written the gun laws themselves. Arizona didn’t even break the top 10.
