Are Arizona’s Gun Laws Stricter Than The Old West?

I love the old west. I remember sitting in my living room with my dad as we struggled to stay awake, watching 3:10 to Yuma, The Sisters Brothers, and The Outlaw Josey Wales ("Birds gotta eat, same as the worms).

We loved the stories of grizzled outlaws fighting their way through an unjust world with nothing but a revolver and their trusty steed.

Turns out, the Old West was much more tame than we remember it to be.

Old Arizona's Strict Gun Laws

We tend to think of Outlaws as no-nonsense killers that would shoot a bar patron if they looked funny. In fact, it was likely very much the opposite. While the open deserts were still fair game for debauchery and crime, the settlements dotting the landscape were a different story.

Tombstone, for example, the most famous old west town, had some of the strictest laws in the country. Anyone entering the town in the late 19th century was required to check their weapons at a saloon, and retrieve them whenever they were ready to leave. This was a common practice across early Arizona settlements to cut down on the crime they were witnessing in the open desert.

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Consider the Tables Turned

If you were to show someone the gun laws from 1880 and 2024 and ask them which is which, there's no way anyone would get it right. Today's gun laws are incredibly lenient, and Arizona's living proof of that.

While there are certain areas you still must leave the guns behind at (schools, military bases, native land, etc.), Arizona's open carry law makes it as easy as possible to walk into a shop, buy a gun, and roam the streets with your new piece hassle free.

[Smithsonian][Cowboy Accountant][Phoenix Government]