The state Legislature passed a bill that forces the city of Tucson to post a bond worth north of $70 million simply to exercise the ability to defend our rights in court. And the attorney general is OK with that.
And that same bill gives the AG the right to cut off $172 million dollars due to the city of Tucson in taxes generated locally. Heβs OK with that provision, too.
And that same law gives the attorney general the authority to usurp decision-making authority from the court system. And the AG is OK with that.
In each of those cases there is a clear and unmistakable violation of constitutional separation of powers or due process. And Attorney General Brnovich is evidently fine with each one. How do I know? Because in a decision he issued this week, Brnovich let stand SB 1487, a bill that any high school civics class student would see is so constitutionally flawed that it should be considered wholly without standing in any court in the land.
You see, AG Brnovich let the law stand because the underlying issue he was confronted with is the city of Tucson policy on disposing of guns. And with this state Legislature, thatβs religion.
The city of Tucson has had a policy in place for years by which we selectively dispose of guns that come into our possession. Some are sold through the internet to licensed dealers. Others are destroyed. That last outcome is unthinkable to many in our state Legislature. And so they crafted a fundamentally unconstitutional law to force us to rescind our policy. And the AG is OK with that.
You see, the AG feels how we dispose of our property β specifically guns β is of statewide concern. In his decision Brnovich says itβs up to the state to protect the Second Amendment. Forcing the city to sell all of the guns that come into our possession increases the number of them on the street, which through supply and demand will lower the cost. Making them cheaper will βgenerally facilitate the citizenβs right to bear arms.β (P.7, Brnovich decision.)
Brnovich also feels itβs up to the state to protect the citizens of Tucson. In his decision he states forcing the city to sell all of the guns that come into our possession furthers that end because βincreasing the supply of firearms is in the interest of public safety.β (P.7) His reasoning; more guns equals more safety on the streets of Tucson.
The AG also feels itβs up to the state to preserve order in the city of Tucson. He says βthe state is protecting that interest by requiring police departments to take advantage of forfeited firearms or to transfer them to public sale, which the state believes to be important to public safety.β (P.8) Preventing any gun from being destroyed βpreserves order.β
The state attorney general is the peopleβs lawyer. His job is not to strip sovereign charter cities of their constitutional rights. And his job is not to facilitate the adjudication of laws adopted by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Ducey that contain flagrant and obvious constitutional violations. And yet, in his decision to force the city of Tucson to post a $70 million dollar bond simply to exercise our right to defend our policies, and his decision to ignore clear separation of powers flaws in SB 1487, AG Brnovich places himself above the law.
You see, the underlying issue is destroying a gun. And in this state, that trumps the Constitution.
