Unlawful Discharge of a Firearm (Shannon's Law) in Arizona
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Unlawful Discharge of a Firearm

13-3101.  Definitions

  1. In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
    1. "Deadly weapon" means anything that is designed for lethal use.  The term includes a firearm.
    2. "Deface" means to remove, alter or destroy the manufacturer's serial number.
    3. "Explosive" means any dynamite, nitroglycerine, black powder or other similar explosive material, including plastic explosives. Explosive does not include ammunition or ammunition components such as primers, percussion caps, smokeless powder, black powder and black powder substitutes used for hand loading purposes.
    4. "Firearm" means any loaded or unloaded handgun, pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun or other weapon that will expel, is designed to expel or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive. Firearm does not include a firearm in permanently inoperable condition.
    5. "Occupied structure" means any building, object, vehicle, watercraft, aircraft or place with sides and a floor that is separately securable from any other structure attached to it, that is used for lodging, business, transportation, recreation or storage and in which one or more human beings either are or are likely to be present or so near as to be in equivalent danger at the time the discharge of a firearm occurs. Occupied structure includes any dwelling house, whether occupied, unoccupied or vacant.
    6. "Prohibited possessor" means any person:
      1. Who has been found to constitute a danger to himself or to others pursuant to court order under section 36-540, and whose court ordered treatment has not been terminated by court order.
      2. Who has been convicted within or without this state of a felony or who has been adjudicated delinquent for a felony and whose civil right to possess or carry a gun or firearm has not been restored.
      3. Who is at the time of possession serving a term of imprisonment in any correctional or detention facility.
      4. Who is at the time of possession serving a term of probation pursuant to a conviction for a domestic violence offense as defined in section 13-3601 or a felony offense, parole, community supervision, work furlough, home arrest or release on any other basis or who is serving a term of probation or parole pursuant to the interstate compact under title 31, chapter 3, article 4.
      5. Who is a prohibited possessor under 18 United States Code section 922(g)(5), except as provided by 18 United States Code section 922(y).
    7. "Prohibited weapon" means, but does not include fireworks imported, distributed or used in compliance with state laws or local ordinances, any propellant, propellant actuated devices or propellant actuated industrial tools that are manufactured, imported or distributed for their intended purposes or a device that is commercially manufactured primarily for the purpose of illumination, including any of the following:
      1. Explosive, incendiary or poison gas:
        1. Bomb.
        2. Grenade.
        3. Rocket having a propellant charge of more than four ounces.
        4. Mine.
      2. Device that is designed, made or adapted to muffle the report of a firearm.
      3. Firearm that is capable of shooting more than one shot automatically, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger.
      4. Rifle with a barrel length of less than sixteen inches, or shotgun with a barrel length of less than eighteen inches, or any firearm that is made from a rifle or shotgun and that, as modified, has an overall length of less than twentysix inches.
      5. Instrument, including a nunchaku, that consists of two or more sticks, clubs, bars or rods to be used as handles, connected by a rope, cord, wire or chain, in the design of a weapon used in connection with the practice of a system of selfdefense.
      6.  Breakable container that contains a flammable liquid with a flash point of one hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit or less and that has a wick or similar device capable of being ignited.
      7. Chemical or combination of chemicals, compounds or materials, including dry ice, that is placed in a sealed or unsealed container for the purpose of generating a gas to cause a mechanical failure, rupture or bursting of the container.
      8. Combination of parts or materials that is designed and intended for use in making or converting a device into an item set forth in subdivision (a) or (f) of this paragraph.
  2. The items set forth in subsection A, paragraph 7, subdivisions (a), (b), (c) and (d) of this section do not include any firearms or devices that are registered in the national firearms registry and transfer records of the United States treasury department or any firearm that has been classified as a curio or relic by the United States treasury department.

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13-3107.  Unlawful discharge of firearms; exceptions; classification; definitions

  1. A person who with criminal negligence discharges a firearm within or into the limits of any municipality is guilty of a class 6 felony.
  2. Notwithstanding the fact that the offense involves the discharge of a deadly weapon, unless the dangerous nature of the felony is charged and proven pursuant to section 13-604, subsection P, the provisions of section 13-702, subsection G apply to this offense.
  3. This section does not apply if the firearm is discharged:
    1. As allowed pursuant to the provisions of chapter 4 of this title.
    2. On a properly supervised range.
    3. In an area recommended as a hunting area by the Arizona game and fish department, approved and posted as required by the chief of police, but any such area may be closed when deemed unsafe by the chief of police or the director of the game and fish department.
    4. For the control of nuisance wildlife by permit from the Arizona game and fish department or the United States fish and wildlife service.
    5. By special permit of the chief of police of the municipality.
    6. As required by an animal control officer in the performance of duties as specified in section 9-499.04.
    7. Using blanks.
    8. More than one mile from any occupied structure as defined in section 13-3101.
    9. In selfdefense or defense of another person against an animal attack if a reasonable person would believe that deadly physical force against the animal is immediately necessary and reasonable under the circumstances to protect oneself or the other person.
  4. For the purposes of this section:
    1. "Municipality" means any city or town and includes any property that is fully enclosed within the city or town.
    2. "Properly supervised range" means a range that is operated:
      1. By a club affiliated with the national rifle association of America, the amateur trapshooting association, the national skeet association or any other nationally recognized shooting organization, or by any public or private school, or
      2. Approved by any agency of the federal government, this state, a county or city within which the range is located or
      3. With adult supervision for shooting air or carbon dioxide gas operated guns, or for shooting in underground ranges on private or public property.

Disclaimer: These are the statutes as they read on October 30, 2008 on the Arizona State Legislature's website. Each year the Arizona State Legislature changes some of the criminal laws. Generally (but not always), the criminal law (statute) that is in place on the date of offense is the law that applies to the case. To find the most current version of the statute go to the Arizona State Legislature's website (http://www.azleg.gov/ArizonaRevisedStatutes.asp?Title=13)

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Laws in Arizona Unlawful Discharge of a Firearm Shannon's Law