Do something! The loud noise scares her
Who would've thunk it that any cabal of elected officials in Arizona could be worse than Gov. Jan Brewer and her GOP-controlled legislature? Those Tea Party goonballs went about dismantling higher education and public schools, while increasing the private prison budget and reducing corporate taxes,
leaving our state with a $520 million deficit this year and a projected $1 billion shortfall in 2016. But I'll say this for Brewer: she stood up to the crazies and
accepted the Medicare expansion, and more than once she vetoed bills that would permit guns on
college campuses and in
public buildings.
One result of Obamacare is that Arizona had one of the fastest growing signup rates in the nation this year. Predictably, a result of Brewer's gun vetoes is that the 2nd Amendment purists complain that Arizona's laws are too restrictive (!), and so last night Republican Senator Kelli Ward slipped into a bill an amendment that'll allow Arizonans to buy sawed-off shotguns and silencers without a background check. Because, I guess, regular shotguns are too heavy, and if you're hunting deer, they're scared off by loud noises.
The bill, SB 1460, passed in committee along party lines and heads to the full Senate today. Because the unexpected amendment was inserted so clandestinely, police and other law officials were not prepared to speak against it. Perhaps by the time SB 1460 comes before the full Senate today a united opposition will form. It's certainly a scary time in Arizona when Republican Sen. John Kavanaugh is the voice of reason:
Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, said the bill could wind up failing because of overreach. "I'd like to see that (amendment) taken out and have the bill in its original format," he said.
If the bill survives with the amendment intact and moves to the House, it will likely pass and head to the governor's desk. Ducey and his cronies in the legislature, believe it or not, are already proving to be worse than Brewer's administration. He's calling for another
$75 million in higher education cuts at the same time he's increased the prison budget substantially; meanwhile the legislature is busy introducing bills that place more restrictions on
abortion and reduce
tax revenues, while the state's deficit balloons.
Unlike Brewer, it's doubtful the Koch-fueled Ducey will stand up to the wingers, so if the sawed-off shotgun bill makes it to his desk, expect a signature from the man whose candidacy was helped by a strong endorsement from the NRA:
“We can count on Doug Ducey to stand up for our constitutional freedoms in the Grand Canyon State. The NRA encourages all gun owners and sportsmen in Arizona to vote Doug Ducey for Governor on November 4."
Buckle up, Arizonans, it's going to be a bumpy ride: more restrictions on women's, immigrants', and LGBT rights; more assaults on higher education and public schools (especially with our new wackjob
State Superintendent); more corporate tax giveaways; millions more to the private prison industry; continuing attacks on our majestic public lands; more
"dark money" influence; and more finger-poking in the federal government's face. That's precisely what the shotgun-silencer bill sets up: another court battle with the feds, whose gun laws do not permit these sales. At least we'll have something to talk about at Netroots Nation in Phoenix this summer!