Last March, we reported that Pima County, Ariz., leaders had conspired to fine residents $1,000 if they fail to report lost or stolen firearms to the government within two days. To stop the fine’s enforcement, the Goldwater Institute filed a lawsuit on behalf of Air Force veteran Chris King and the Pima County-based Arizona Citizens Defense League.
Under the ordinance, lawful gun owners whose firearms are stolen would be victimized a second time by the county if they did not report the loss quickly enough.
Now, in a victory for all Arizona firearm owners, a state court judge struck down the law. In a ruling on February 18, Judge Greg Sakall of the Arizona Superior Court in Pima County determined that the county’s actions violated multiple provisions of state law, including the state’s firearms preemption law that prohibits city and county leaders from enacting gun measures that are more restrictive than state law.
Arizona’s firearms preemption law states: “A political subdivision of this state shall not enact any ordinance, rule or tax relating to the transportation, possession, carrying, sale, transfer, purchase, acquisition, gift, devise, storage, licensing, registration, discharge or use of firearms or ammunition or any firearm or ammunition components or related accessories in this state.”
“It’s one of those things that we were sure we were in the right,” Joe Setyon, senior communications manager for the Goldwater Institute, said in an exclusive interview with America’s 1st Freedom. “But it’s gratifying, and it’s vindicating to see the court realize that the law was on our side and our argument was backed up by the facts.”
Rather than target criminals who steal firearms, the requirement would have revictimized law-abiding gun owners who experience the loss or theft of a firearm and may not even realize they are victims well after a theft has taken place.
One such person was U.S. Air Force veteran Chris King, who was one of the plaintiffs in the case. “I’m grateful the court recognized that Pima County officials are not above the law,” said King, a county resident and NRA-certified firearms instructor whose firearm was stolen from his home while he was on active duty out of state. “Firearm owners like me shouldn’t have to pay exorbitant fines as punishment for being robbed.”
“Today’s ruling is a significant victory for the rule of law, for gun owners statewide and for the state’s ability to prevent rogue cities and counties from creating a confusing patchwork of local firearm restrictions,” said Parker Jackson, staff attorney for the Goldwater Institute.
Last year, the Pima County Attorney’s Office and members of the public notified the board of the legal deficiencies of the proposal before it passed the ordinance. Additionally, a majority of the board made comments prior to the passage of the ordinance recognizing that firearms regulations belong at the state level. Four of the five supervisors voted for it anyway.
Pima County officials were not the first to attempt such a scheme. In 2013, the city of Tucson enacted an ordinance with nearly identical provisions, which the Arizona attorney general declared to be preempted and unlawful.
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