when i was on vacation last week, i attended a ccw (concealed weapons) class at shooter’s world. i opted for the two 4 hour classes, as opposed to the one 8 hour class. there were approximately 18 people in attendance. two of us were women, the rest were men. indeed, on the first day of the class, before the second woman arrived, one of the male attendees remarked that he was disappointed that “only one woman was attending”. i agreed with him.

arizona is a right-to-carry state. it’s not unusual to see ordinary civilians walking around with a handgun in a holster on their belt. one doesn’t need a permit to carry a weapon in this manor. many arizonians opt to take a ccw class, as did i, in order to carry a concealed handgun legally.

in the first 4 hour class, we reviewed the arizona gun laws, including when it is legal to defend oneself or another law abiding citizen from deadly force. during the second 4 hour class, we were tested on our knowledge, and our ability to properly handle a handgun. we all had to accurately shoot a target at 5, and then 10 yards. the instructor also tested us on our ability to use our non-dominant hand in firing our weapons.

i found the course informative and comprehensive. i also passed the course, and was issued a ccw permit, which i received in the mail today.

i found it a bit concerning that i had to list *all* my previous names on the application. so i listed my maiden name, along with my given name. it’s not often these days that i write my given name, but when dealing with these types of situations, i find it better to be honest and open. i was encouraged that listing my given name did not delay nor impede the processing of my application. the application included my fingerprints, and the state of arizona performs a comprehensive fbi background check. i have to imagine that they understood me to be trans. and again, i’m impressed that the issuance of my permit went through unfettered.

apparently, the state of arizona considers a transsexual (or at least, this transsexual) to be someone who “does not suffer from mental illness and has not been adjudicated mentally incompetent or committed to a mental institution.” according to §13-3112 E4 of arizona law.

the moral of this blog post? if you try to use deadly force against a transsexual in the state of arizona, be prepared to face the business end of a deadly weapon.