Eyes Never Closed » Local

Bloody Streets and the City Clowncil

JP — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 21:15:09 +0000

The month of August was the worst on record for Pima County (mostly Tucson) and homicides. We had 15 people murdered last month. Eleven of them were handled by the Tucson Police Department, and the remaining four by the Pima County Sheriff’s Office. At this time, there is no evidence that any of the murders are connected. We saw people shot to death, people stabbed to death and people beaten to death.

And the Tucson City Clowncil wants to cut 150+ police officers and 100+ firefighters from the ranks. Now, I am the first one to subscribe to the “a cop is to heavy to carry”, “cops are minutes away when seconds count” type theories – but public safety officers are a very much needed presence in our largish town. Comparing to other cities and the national averages, our police department was under staffed to begin with.

We need more cops on the street. I do believe that a police presence on the streets is a deterrent. We were having lots of crime problems in my neighborhood a few months back. The police came out in force: 20+ officers on bicycles riding around the neighborhood just chatting with people, and reminding them that if they see anything fishy or witness a crime that they should call the Police. All of the sudden, crime in my neighborhood seemed to almost completely stopped (it moved a few miles down the road to where one man got into an argument on the bus, and ended up getting stabbed by the other guy after the driver kicked them both off.)

It is all the bus system’s (SunTran) fault too! Our city is only supposed to be subsidizing the bus system $700k a year. Instead, they are sending $30+MILLION dollars of tax payer money to the system. Fortunately it looks like SunTran is going to have some of that budget cut and moved to public safety, but its not enough. We also have some free tax payer funded daycare, and some businesses downtown who are paying $0 rent in city owned buildings and many other wasteful entries in the city budget.

Our city council will not do whats right. They will not prioritize correctly. Cut it all. Get rid of your special interest funding, arts, etc., etc.; and properly budget our Police and Fire. Make this city somewhat safe – then fix our damn roads, and then you can give some crappy grocery store free rent.

What a McShame

JP — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 05:10:29 +0000

At the time of this writing, it looks like John McCain is leading in the primary with a total of nearly 240,000 votes (is only 2 out of 15 counties reporting). I had knew we had idiots in this state but I honestly did not believe he’d stand a chance this month. I was wrong.

Right now, . . . → Read More: What a McShame

Time For Someone New

JP — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 04:37:52 +0000

I have nothing but respect and admiration for John McCain’s service to this nation, but it is my belief he has lost touched with his constituents and needs to move on. He is the wrong person for the job that needs doing. He blatantly lied about supporting the amnesty bill, didn’t care about the border issue in AZ until AZ made it a hugely known issue, supports cap and trade and more. Sorry Johnny, but you’ve got to go – and let go of the kid!

White House vs. Arizona

JP — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:13:20 +0000

Apparently the White House has admitted to suing Arizona over SB 1070 only for the reason of trying to get more Hispanic voters on their side. Read all about it . . . → Read More: White House vs. Arizona

AZ Legislature Adjourned

JP — Sat, 01 May 2010 04:33:14 +0000

The Arizona State Legislature adjourned yesterday. That means that all of this sessions passed legislation will go into effect on July 29th. There should be a Constitutional Carry/Firearms Freedom Act/Preemption party thrown the . . . → Read More: AZ Legislature Adjourned

Sheriff Joe to Run for AZ Governor?

JP — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 14:10:33 +0000

From Political Mafioso:

I spoke to Maricopa County Sheriff JOE ARPAIO last Friday evening for over an hour. I had contacted Sheriff Joe to inform him of the passing of our dog Ginger last Monday (the Sheriff was very fond of her; every time I see Joe he always asks about our dog).

The discussion turned to politics. We spoke of the 2010 elections; who would win, what candidates were running, etc, etc.

Then I asked the Sheriff if he was considering a run for Governor as many media outlets & blogs have reported.

“Ava (his lovely wife) gave me the green light; she is encouraging me to run” said Arpaio.

Sheriff Joe told me that he was in the process of finding a ‘professional signature gathering company’ for getting petition signatures , mostly because of the short amount of time he will have to get them.

“I have over $2 Million raised for my run for Sheriff in 2012″. “I’m getting too old (77) to wait and this is my last chance” said Sheriff Arpaio about a run for the Governorship.

If this is true this could make for a very interesting race for governor.

SB1168 To Be Heard by the COW Thursday

JP — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 03:03:37 +0000

Good News for Constitutional Carry in AZ

JP — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:03:03 +0000

From AZCDL.org:

March 3, 2010

Constitutional Carry rescued in Senate.

On Friday, March 5th at 10 AM, the Senate Appropriations Committee will debate and vote on SB 1108. The sponsor of SB 1108, Committee Chairman Senator Russell Pearce, has proposed a “strike everything” amendment that replaces SB 1108, in its entirety, with the intended language from SB 1102 (Constitutional Carry).

SB 1102, which was headed for a Senate floor vote, was derailed last week after the attachment of the Cheuvront amendment during the Senate Committee of the Whole (COW), creating a Class 4 Felony for private sellers of firearms who fail to verify a buyer’s citizenship when the sale is conducted at a gun show:

Now that we have a second bite at the apple, it’s critical we remind the Senate Appropriations Committee members to support the amended SB 1108. A letter has been prepared and is waiting for you at our Action Center.

We have more good news. Representative Frank Antenori, who sponsored the House version of Constitutional Carry (HB 2347), has been appointed to replace Senator Jonathan Paton who vacated his seat to run for the U.S. House of Representatives. Senator Antenori is expected to be present when SB 1108 moves to the Senate floor for debate and vote.

Meanwhile, Senator Antenori’s House version of Constitutional Carry, HB 2347, passed out of the House Military Affairs and Public Safety (MAPS) Committee on February 3, 2010 and is awaiting a review by the House Rules Committee before heading to a floor debate in the House COW.

In other news, we are expecting SB 1168, the Senate version of the firearms preemption bill, to be scheduled for a Senate COW debate, hopefully this week. When the calendar is posted, we will let you know via an Alert.

Constitutional Carry and Preemption in AZ

JP — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:45:41 +0000

From AZCDL.org:

February 25, 2010

Constitutional Carry rides again!

SB 1102, the Senate version of Constitutional Carry may have been stalled by a few Senate Republicans “crossing the aisle” to vote with Democrats to add the Cheuvront amendment, but that doesn’t mean it’s “game over” for Constitutional Carry in Arizona. We are working with Senator Russell Pearce, the bill’s sponsor, to find a way to move the Senate bill forward in its proper form.

Even though the situation in the Senate remains tenuous, all is still not lost. AzCDL plans ahead! At the beginning of this session, identical versions of Constitutional Carry were introduced in both the House and Senate. The House version, HB 2347, was assigned to both the Judiciary and Military Affairs and Public Safety (MAPS) committees. HB 2347 passed out of the MAPS Committee on February 3, 2010, by a 5-2 vote. Though it didn’t seem to be moving in the House Judiciary Committee, Chairman Adam Driggs assured us that he supported the bill, and was only waiting to see that the concerns of stake holders had been addressed via negotiated amendments. On Tuesday, February 23rd, true to his word, Representative Driggs withdrew HB 2347 from the Judiciary Committee. It will now be scheduled for a review by the House Rules Committee before heading to a floor debate in the Committee of the Whole. Please take a minute to thank Chairman Driggs for his support.

Amendments were made to the bills mainly to address law enforcement’s concerns, but the underlying restoration of the right to carry concealed without a permit remains unchanged. As a result, most rank and file law enforcement organizations have dropped their opposition to the Constitutional Carry bills. The highlights of the current version of these bills include:

Eliminating the prohibition and penalties for law-abiding adults who carry a concealed weapon without a permit in Arizona except in places, like restaurants serving alcohol, where the law requires a CCW permit.

Increasing the penalties for criminals who carry a concealed weapon in the commission or attempted commission of a serious, violent, or major felony crime.

Requiring a person carrying a concealed weapon to notify a Law Enforcement Officer, upon their request, that the person possesses a concealed weapon.

Adding more training options for obtaining a CCW permit.

Eliminating the storage requirement for CCW permit holders who enter a “non-secure” public building.

Allowing LEOSA certified retired Law Enforcement Officers to carry on school grounds.

Requiring confiscated firearms to be sold to an appropriate retailer rather than destroyed.

In other news, also on February 23rd, Representative Driggs released HB 2543, the House version of the firearms preemption bill, from his committee. HB 2543 passed out of the House MAPS Committee on February 17th by a vote of 7-1 with a recommendation for passage by the full House.

SB 1168, the Senate version of the firearms preemption bill, passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on February 22nd by a vote of 4-3 with a recommendation for passage by the full Senate.

Both firearms preemption bills will be reviewed in their respective Rules Committees before proceeding to Committee of the Whole (COW) debates.

SB 1153, the knife preemption bill, passed in the Senate Third Read on February 22, 2010 by a vote of 20-9 with one member not voting. It has been transmitted to the House.

On February 24, 2010, HCR 2008, which would, subject to voter approval, establish a Constitutional right to hunt and fish, passed out of the House MAPS Committee by a vote of 6-1 with one member voting present.

AZ SB 1102 Sabotaged

JP — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 17:41:23 +0000

I just found this over at AZCDL.org:

Earlier this afternoon (February 18, 2010), the Senate debated SB 1102 in the Committee of the Whole (COW). The COW debate is the last chance for a bill to get amended before a formal (Third Read) floor vote by the full Senate. During the COW debate, Democrat Senator Ken Cheuvront submitted a a hostile amendment, right out of the Brady Center play book, which would make it a class 4 felony to not verify citizenship on any private sale conducted at a gun show. This is the same amendment that was defeated during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on SB 1102.

Initially, Senator Cheuvront’s amendment was defeated by voice vote during the debate on SB 1102. However, parliamentary procedures allowed him to reintroduce his amendment during the process of “closing” the COW calendar containing SB 1102 and a number of other bills. At that point, Senator Cheuvront asked for a recorded vote. As expected, all 12 Democrats in the Senate voted for the Cheuvront amendment. Of the 18 Republicans, Senator Jonathan Paton was not present for the vote, and the following 3 Republicans “crossed the aisle” to limit your freedoms, voting to PASS the Cheuvront amendment by a 15-14 vote.

Senator Carolyn S. Allen
Senator Steve Pierce
Senator Jay Tibshraeny

If any one of this “turncoat trio” had voted against the Cheuvront amendment, it would have failed by 14-15. Joining in the vote of their fellow Democrats to damage your rights were two Democrats who have received favorable NRA ratings because of their prior support of pro-rights firearms legislation:

Senator “Manny” Alvarez
Senator Rebecca Rios

It is imperative that we let these 5 senators know, in no uncertain terms, what a grave mistake they have made. We strongly encourage everyone receiving this Alert to go to our Action Center and send the letter that is waiting there. We urge you to express your feelings and feel free to modify the language we have provided.

This is NOT the end of our attempt to get Constitutional Carry passed this session. There are several opportunities that we can take advantage of. However, at this point SB 1102 will not be calendared for a Senate Third Read (final vote before being sent to the House) until we have determined the optimum strategy.

Bottom-line: We will not sacrifice your right to privately sell firearms in order to achieve Constitutional Carry!

Visit the AZCDL by using the link above to get a link to the email letter they suggest you send out.