Election rigging
At the birth of the Republic, women and minorities had about the same civil rights as a monkey in a zoo. In the 20th century, efforts by Democrats vastly improved the self-determination rights of all Americans. But now, Republicans are poised to take away those rights. Your 12-year-old niece may soon be forced to bring an unwanted pregnancy to term. How long before contraceptives and marijuana are illegal?
Battling against civil rights for anyone not a white male, it appears likely Republicans will lose power in the near future once whites become a minority. I think the only hope Republicans have is to rig the electoral system so that they can stay in power, irrespective of the will of the people.
If you want to keep the rights you hold most dear, vote Democrat.
Walter Mann
Marana
2nd Amendment
The Second Amendment to the Constitution is not an absolute. It can be changed. The change is called an amendment.
John (Jay) Van Echo
West side
Biden and Obama attack the "gun lobby"
After the horrific mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, both Biden and Obama denounced the "gun lobby" for preventing gun control measures. The "gun lobby" referred to is the National Rifle Association (NRA) that over the decades has conducted thousands of gun safety courses across the country. The so called "gun lobby" represents millions of law-abiding gun owners and seeks to protect and advocate their Second Amendment right. Not much different from the ever powerful teacher's and teamster's unions that protect their members' interests. Democrats call for "universal background checks," but most mass shooters purchased their firearms legally and underwent a background check. It is seen as a Trojan Horse to more gun control. Take a look at the extreme gun control legislation H.R. 127 introduced last year by Democrat Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee that required mandatory registration of all firearms, psychological exams, expensive registration fees, a national firearms database, etc. Many gun owners do not trust Democrats on gun control and believe their ultimate goal is confiscation.
Martin Wagman
Green Valley
Gun violence
Even though the NRA and its sycophant Republicans regard these ongoing massacres as merely collateral damage, to appease the public with ways to stop them they'll suggest that every school child age 5-18 have a gun with him or her at all times. Does this really seem far-fetched to you?
Duane Harpet
Northwest side
Only one reason for our gun violence problem
Gun rights advocates will cite many causes for gun violence, online hate groups, mental illness, racism, etc, but the U.S. has no more of these problems than other nations. These “causes” are a smokescreen for the real reason we have so much gun violence. Guns are everywhere, more than 300 million of them. We believe that almost every citizen has a constitutional right to own guns. No other country has such a right and no other country has our gun problem. Before I’m allowed to drive a car, I must pass a test but if I drive drunk or too fast, I will lose that privilege. Gun ownership should be a licensed privilege, not a right of every citizen.
Loring Green
Foothills
Electoral reform
It’s useless to condemn the rural-state senators who are unwilling to pass background checks or ban AR-15s. We need to change the system that elects them. Congress has the power to enact ranked-choice voting (RCV) for itself. Because voters would vote for several candidates, in the order of their preference, they wouldn’t have to choose the “lesser of two evils,” but could vote for what they really believe in. Third-party campaigns would no longer be unrealistic. Arriving in Washington, elected candidates from several parties would negotiate to form a coalition that would have a majority to pass legislation. Primary elections would no longer be needed, since “outsiders” could enter Congress through third or fourth parties. And consequently, senators from rural states wouldn’t have to fear being “primaried” by the militant minority who reject any form of gun control whatever. As with numerous other issues that our current two-party polarization prevents us from solving, RCV would break the log-jam of American politics.
Robert Wallace
Oro Valley
NRA convention hypocrisy
I heard on the news that the NRA convention, being held in Texas, will not allow guns inside the convention hall. I thought they believed the answer to gun violence was to arm everyone at all times. What are they afraid of? Could it be that it is not safe to have a convention hall full of armed "patriots." They are the definition of hypocrisy.
Richard Bechtold
West side
AR-15 type weapons ban
While Donald Trump took action to successfully ban bump stocks, the ban has been kept in place by federal courts, including a Supreme Court that had a majority "conservative" justices.
Why doesn't current President Biden use a similar approach to immediately ban sales of AR-15 type weapons? Sure, the move will be challenged in courts, but, like Trump's bump stock ban, it too may be upheld.
Matthew Scully
Sahuarita
Changing Arizona gun laws
A Wikipedia-level summary of Arizona gun laws shows Texas-level disregard for public safety: no permit required to purchase, no registration required, no assault weapon law, no magazine capacity restrictions, no owner license required, no permit required for concealed or open carry, etc. The Uvalde tragedy is equally probable in Arizona unless reasonable gun regulation becomes law and is enforced. To allow an 18 year old to purchase two AR15s, ammunition and 30-round magazines is just wrong. Meaningful gun laws will also help Arizona law enforcement be better armed than criminals, reduce the high level of suicide in states with weak gun laws and reduce the flow of illegal guns to Mexico that return as drugs killing our youth. Make sure those we vote for in November support reasonable gun legislation. Those that cannot do not deserve elected office.
Frank Hartline
Foothills
The other Big Lie
I understand that some bureaucrat has to say there is a 100-year water supply available in order for a building permit to be issued for new construction. How can anyone do that with a straight face? We have the technology to safely process human waste without water. It's called a composting toilet.
Holly Finstrom
West side
Sen. Sinema listens to donors
“We are horrified and heartbroken by the senseless tragedy unfolding at Robb Elementary School in Texas and grateful to the first responders for acting swiftly. No families should ever have to fear violence in their children’s schools,” Kyrsten Sinema wrote in a May 24 tweet. This is the Republican talking points she is mouthing.
But she is going to continue to do what her overseers, er I mean, donors, want. Sinema is worse than any Republican who supports unfettered gun ownership. She enables and counts her donations in her designer dresses.
She has shown her true colors time and again. We need to turn the Senate blue so she becomes a non-issue and just fades away.
Fed up.
Thom Melendez
Midtown
Roe v. Wade
It is amazing how many people misunderstand the role of our SCOTUS, which is to interpret and protect our rights spelled out in the Constitution. It appears as if they are finally correcting a mistake made in the Roe v. Wade decision by ruling that abortion rights aren't covered in the Constitution, and therefore be decided by the people in each state rather than nine people wearing robes.
Ken Wolfe
Marana
