By Daniel Stefanski |
A rural Arizona legislator received an honor for his defense of a timeless right embedded in the Bill of Rights.
Earlier this month, State Representative Quang Nguyen, a Republican, received the 2024 “Legislator of the Year” award from the Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL) for “his steadfast commitment to protecting Second Amendment rights.”
In a statement accompanying his announcement of the award, Nguyen said, “I’m deeply honored to receive this recognition from the Arizona Citizens Defense League. Protecting the Second Amendment is a responsibility I take seriously, and I will continue to stand with the citizens of Arizona to ensure their rights are not infringed upon. The AzCDL plays a vital role in protecting our constitutional freedoms of firearm owners across our state. I’m proud to work alongside this important organization in this ongoing effort to safeguard the liberties of all Arizonans.”
According to his press release, Representative Nguyen “plays a key role in advancing legislation that defends the rights of gun owners in Arizona, while blocking efforts aimed at undermining those protections.” Nguyen serves as the Chairman of the all-important House Judiciary Committee, where much of these proposals originate.
Last year, Nguyen’s seatmate, Representative Selina Bliss, earned the same award from the Second Amendment organization.
Demonstrating his watchful eyes over the Second Amendment rights of Arizonans, Nguyen recently sent a letter to municipal leaders in the City of Sedona, requesting that they review an ordinance dealing with firearms. He highlighted that the prohibition in the ordinance “on carrying firearms is not consistent with Arizona Revised Statutes § 13-3108,” thus making it “invalid and unenforceable because it exceeds what state law authorizes.
Nguyen was previously named to “a select group of Republican legislators nationwide chosen for GOPAC’s 2024 Class of Emerging Leaders, an honor which recognizes a member’s strong sense of service, purpose, and effective leadership in the State Legislature.”
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.