Arizona

Arizona Law

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE FIREARM PROHIBITIONS

Arizona Domestic Violence Firearm Purchase and Possession Prohibitions

Arizona prohibits persons convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from possessing a deadly weapon (including a firearm) while the person is serving a term of probation for that conviction.1 Arizona may prohibit the subject of an emergency order of protection from purchasing or possessing firearms for the duration of the order “[i]f the court finds that the defendant may inflict bodily injury or death on the plaintiff[.]”2 Arizona may prohibit the subject of a domestic violence order of protection issued after notice and hearing from purchasing or possessing firearms for the duration of the order “[i]f the court finds that the defendant is a credible threat to the physical safety of the plaintiff or other specifically designated persons[.]”3

ARIZONA CIVIL ORDER OF PROTECTION FIREARM REMOVAL

Domestic Violence Civil Orders of Protection That Require Firearm Removal

If a court issuing a final domestic violence order of protection prohibits the defendant from possessing a firearm, the court shall “… order the defendant to transfer any firearm owned or possessed by the defendant[.]”4 Arizona law does not explicitly allow for the removal of firearms from a person subject to an emergency order of protection.

Individuals Who May Petition for an Order of Protection

The following persons may petition for a domestic violence order of protection:

  1. Spouses or former spouses;
  2. Persons who reside or resided in the same household;
  3. Persons who share a child in common;
  4. The person or defendant is pregnant by the other party;
  5. Persons “related to the defendant or defendant’s spouse by blood or court order as a parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, brother or sister or by marriage as a parent-in-law, grandparent-in-law, stepparent, step-grandparent, stepchild, step-grandchild, brother-in-law or sister-in-law”;
  6. A person who “is a child who resides or has resided in the same household as the defendant and is related by blood to a former spouse of the defendant or to a person who resides or who has resided in the same household as the defendant”;
  7. Persons who are currently or were previously in a romantic or sexual relationship.5

Removal Process

A defendant ordered to transfer any firearm owned or possessed by the defendant shall do so “… immediately after service of the order to the appropriate law enforcement agency for the duration of the order. If the defendant does not immediately transfer the firearm, the defendant shall transfer the firearm within twenty-four hours after service of the order.”6

Penalties for Violation

Violation of an order of protection is a class 1 misdemeanor7 punishable by up to 6 months imprisonment8 and up to a $2,500 fine.9

This page was updated May 24, 2021. Please note that data used are the most recent available data.