Active bills in the AZ legislature that you might want to contact your representatives to support (Use the GIT Resource page to access Bill wording and links to legislators):
- HB2316 about exempting Concealed Carry Weapons holders from prohibiting carry in public buildings
- HB1251 about expanding the definition of armed Robbery to include when the perpetrator tries to take a deadly weapon from someone at the scene.
Election Integrity – How to Get Involved as the Progressives Unsuccessfully Tried to Remove Conservative from the ballot
- The Arizona Supreme Court has rejected an attempt by the radical left to remove three conservative legislators from the 2022 ballot for attending the protest at the U.S. Capitol on January 6. On Monday May 9th, the court ruled that Representative Andy Biggs, Representative Paul Gosar, and State Rep. Mark Finchem are qualified to remain on the 2022 Primary ballot, affirming the superior court’s judgment. Reps Biggs and Gosar are seeking reelection to the U.S. House, and Mark Finchem is running for Arizona Secretary of State to secure elections in Arizona. The Georgia Courts also ruled that Marjorie Taylor Greene could remain on the ballot in Georgia….Conservative voices are winning!
- So what can you do?….Become a poll worker. If you are a registered Republican or Unaffiliated (Other or Independent etc. in our state are lumped into Unaffiliated) then the RNC (Republican National Committee) is asking for folks to step up and become a poll worker or poll observer. You can find information on training going on already to be a poll observer here as well as a number of positions to work polling locations or Early Voting/Tabulation on Election Day (Nov 1st) or before the General Election at the Maricopa County Recorder (many of these are paid positions).
Senate Once Again Blocks Move to Codify Roe v Wade
- The Senate voted on May 11th to filibuster the Democrat-sponsored Women’s Health Protection Act (WPHA), which would have codified the 1973 Roe v Wade abortion ruling into federal law as the Supreme Court leaked draft opinion appears intent on striking down the precedent. The vote was 51-49 along party lines with all Repbulicans and Joe Manchin voting against the measure. Under the 1973 standard, states are prohibited from imposing restrictions on abortion in the first trimester (during which the Supreme Court ruled the mother’s right to privacy outweighed state interest in protecting life). The Constitution of course does not enumerate this power to the Federal Government, therefore this ruling in 1973 is unconstitutional and should be left to the states to decide.
- Democrats decided immediately after the current draft ruling was leaked to try again on the WHPA, which the Senate failed to advance in February. A different version of the legislation was passed by the House of Representative in September 2021 in a party-line vote with Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), a pro-life catholic, being the only Democrat to oppose it. The most recent version tried to soften the language of the measure from its earlier form; however, given the composition of the Senate, it was never likely to pass the filibuster required 60 votes.
- Thirteen states already have “trigger laws”, meaning if the Supreme Court does strike down the Roe v Wade precedent – these states have a law that would immediately ban abortion in their state (perhaps with an exception to save the life of the mother…each states’ law might be slightly different). Bottom line for us to know – Arizona does NOT have such a trigger law….yet! It is the opinion of the GIT team that we should encourage our legislatures to draft such a bill for our Congress to consider. Louisiana House was voting on such a bill last week.
Huge win for the Constitutional right to freedom of religion in Louisiana on Friday May 13th.
- The Louisiana Supreme Court sided today in favor of Pastor Tony Spell who continued to hold church services in defiance of Dr. Tony Fauci and Governor John Bel Edwards during the COVID pandemic in the spring of 2020.
- Dr. Fauci urged state leaders to place significant restrictions on US churches to stop the spread of the Coronavirus.
- The Louisiana Supreme Court ruled that the restrictions on gatherings and the stay-at-home mandate Edwards imposed were unconstitutional as they applied to Spell. They ordered charges against Pastor Spell to be dropped.