By Daniel Stefanski |
A northern Arizona lawmaker won a major recognition from a Second Amendment organization.
On Monday, the Arizona House announced that State Representative Selina Bliss, a freshman Republican, earned the “Legislator of the Year” Award from the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL).
“I am immensely honored to be recognized by the Arizona Citizens Defense League,” said Representative Bliss. “They are a terrific organization, dedicated to legislative action in support of the Second Amendment. Like them, I believe fervently in safeguarding our citizens’ right to bear arms – a cornerstone of our Constitution. As a state legislator, it is my privilege to work alongside fellow Arizonans in safeguarding and preserving the freedoms that define our great state, and to stand against any attempts to undermine those cherished liberties.”
Representative Bliss wasted no time in coming to the legislature and working to achieve results for her constituents and Arizonans. Bliss introduced HB 2617, which would have “allowed a constable or deputy constable to carry a firearm, both on and off duty and in the same manner as other certified peace officers, if the constable or deputy constable is in compliance with the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board (AZPOST) firearms requirements and has fulfilled all other requirements as prescribed.” The first-term legislator told AZ Free News that she had introduced the bill after learning from her own Yavapai County Constable Ron Williams ““that constables and deputy constables are not part of the list in ARS 38-1113, which covers off-duty carry of firearms by peace officers.”
Even though the legislation passed out of the State House with broad bipartisan support on May 15, Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed the bill four days later. In the governor’s veto letter to House Speaker Ben Toma, Hobbs said, “I am concerned that this bill would have expanded the authority of constables to carry a gun while off-duty whereby some constables may choose to view themselves as having a ‘duty to respond’ when they are off duty.”
Bliss also scored a recent Second Amendment victory over the City of Phoenix’s donation of hundreds of unclaimed firearms to Ukraine’s national police force, working with Arizona House Judiciary Chairman Quang Nguyen to force the municipality’s leaders to end their efforts and to seek sanctions against its leaders. Both Bliss and Nguyen sent a 1487 complaint to Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes over the issue, who issued a subsequent report which concurred that the City’s ordinance had violated multiple state laws. The two lawmakers were then joined by Representative Travis Grantham in sending a letter to Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, calling on the prosecutor to “immediately undertake a criminal and civil investigation of City of Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego and City Councilmembers for their intentional and flagrant violation of state law in connection with their actions surrounding the City’s Ordinance S-50010.”
According to its website, AzCDL “is a non-profit 501(c)(4), all volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to the principles contained in Article II, Section 2 of the Arizona Constitution that ‘All political power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and are established to protect and maintain individual rights.’”
The organization’s goals for Arizona are as follows:
- Freedom to Carry – Restore and protect the right of law-abiding citizens to carry a firearm openly or discreetly anywhere they have a right to be.
- Fewer restrictions on the lawful carrying of firearms on public property (state and local government buildings, parks, etc.).
- Restaurant Carry – The ability of law-abiding citizens to dine out while carrying a firearm.
- Continued strengthening and preservation of the right of presumed innocence in self-defense situations.
- Strong State Preemption – Firearms laws should be consistent throughout the State.
- Liability responsibility for property owners who ban firearms.
- Continued improvements to CCW laws.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
