What the Supreme Court Ruling on Gun Rights Means For Arizona

What the Supreme Court Ruling on Gun Rights Means For Arizona

By Corinne Murdock |

On Thursday, the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) struck down New York’s concealed carry restriction requiring individuals to prove that they required “a special need for self-protection distinguishable from that of the general community.”

In New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc., et al. v. Bruen, Superintendent of New York State Police, et al., opinion author Justice Clarence Thomas declared that New York’s “proper-cause requirement” violated the Fourteenth Amendment by “preventing law-abiding citizens with ordinary self defense needs” from exercising their right to keep and bear arms.

Arizona is one of the most gun-friendly states in the nation. However, nothing in this world is immune from change. This principle is most obvious with the makeup of the state legislature: the Republican majority has been shrinking over the past decade. A loss of the majority would likely result in an overhaul of current gun rights in the state.

At present, state law allows citizens 18 or older to openly carry a firearm without a permit, and individuals 21 or older may concealed carry a firearm without a license or permit (unless they’re active military or veterans aged 19 or older). The law also doesn’t require individuals to obtain a permit or registration for firearms, and it also doesn’t require a background check when purchasing a handgun from a private individual. Additionally, there aren’t any magazine size restrictions.

Though, it may not just be the loss of a majority that ushers in sweeping gun control measures. State legislators’ assessments of Thursday’s witching hour budget proceedings revealed that current Republican leadership may be willing to work with Democrats to reform gun laws. 

State Representative Jacqueline Parker (R-Mesa) predicted that the budget’s bipartisan support was a harbinger of governing changes to come out of the legislature. Parker warned that current Republican legislators would back gun control measures, in what would be similar to their D.C. counterparts working currently with the White House to pass red flag legislation. 

This ruling is the latest in a series that conservatives chalked up as crucial victories for constitutional protections. Supporters of the gun rights ruling expressed fondness of Thomas’ explanation of how, historically, gun control laws were implemented to bar Black individuals from gun ownership. 

President Joe Biden condemned the ruling in a statement, claiming that the opinion of the court contradicted “both common sense and the Constitution.” Biden cited the recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas as reasons why increased gun control was necessary. 

New York Governor Kathy Hochul insisted that SCOTUS should’ve determined its ruling by current affairs, not precedent or past constitutional arguments. Hochul pledged to act through their state legislature in the near future. 

Hochul also threatened to only allow muskets as a valid form of arms, despite the Constitution not specifying the type of arms that Americans may keep and bear. 

Shortly after his initial reaction to the SCOTUS ruling, Biden issued a follow-up statement addressing Congress’ progress on gun control legislation. If enacted, the federal government would enforce a swath of red flag laws. Critics of the increased gun control measure called it a “gun grab” and a direct affront to the Second Amendment. 

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.

GOP Legislator Tells All: $18 Billion Budget Will ‘Bankrupt’ State, Leadership ‘Bought’ Dems with $6 Billion

GOP Legislator Tells All: $18 Billion Budget Will ‘Bankrupt’ State, Leadership ‘Bought’ Dems with $6 Billion

By Corinne Murdock |

With one week to go before the end of the fiscal year, the Arizona legislature managed to reconcile enough differences to pass a finalized version of the budget. However, Republican legislators opposed to the historic $18 billion budget have reported that the controlling party made the budget more palatable for members across the aisle rather than those of their own party. 

Although Democratic legislators initially expressed great frustration about the budget, it appears that they may have feigned their opposition — the overwhelming majority of Democrats voted for the budget. 

State Representative Jacqueline Parker (R-Mesa) was one of the legislators that voted against the budget. In a Thursday interview with “Conservative Circus,” Parker talked openly about the backdoor proceedings that went on over the last week, claiming that GOP leadership and Governor Doug Ducey gave Democrats what they wanted at the cost of Arizonans’ best interests.

All throughout Thursday’s voting, Parker offered updates on floor proceedings. She noted the shared levity between the Republicans and Democrats as the total expenditures added up with each bill passed.

Parker also noted that the budget received near-unanimous support from Democrats — unique, since Democrats normally have opposed past Republican-majority budgets. 

Contrary to assurances from House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Regina Cobb (R-Kingman) that the budget would enable the state to “weather the storm” of a future recession, Parker said that the budget provisions would bankrupt the state in a recession.

“Spending is colossal, there are no massive tax cuts, and it’s exceeding our actual fiscal revenues. We’re looking at, probably, future bankruptcy as a recession comes forward,” said Parker. 

Parker said that several others brought these concerns to Republican leadership prior to floor votes, but that they were ignored. The representative reported that the leaders were more interested in pleasing Democrats than with working out a conservative budget.

“Leadership essentially just said, ‘It’s easier to just go buy Democrats,’” recounted Parker. “They bought them to the tune of six billion more dollars.”

Although school choice advocates touted the universal expansion of the state’s Empowerment Account Scholarship (ESA) Program, Parker reported that Governor Doug Ducey subverted those efforts. Parker said that she and other unnamed legislators received a 2 am call warning that the ESA expansion came with a “poison pill” from the Ninth Floor. 

“Ducey has made an agreement with the Democrats that if they don’t refer the ESA bill to the ballot or challenge it in court within the 90 day period, they’re going to extend the aggregate expenditure limit forever, indefinitely,” said Parker.

Parker warned that this secret deal would lead to education expenditures that would break past the 50 percent limit and possibly take over the entire budget.

One of the contentious aspects of the budget was the expansion of homeless shelters throughout Arizona suburbs. State Representative Joseph Chaplik (R-Scottsdale), another one of the lone Republicans who opposed the budget alongside Parker, lamented that the budget policies would turn the state into another California. 

Another was the tax credits to entice the film industry to come to the state. The last similar tax credit program bled the state of millions of dollars leading up to the 2008 recession. 

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.

Arizona Senate Appropriations Approves Funding to Kickstart Film Industry in State

Arizona Senate Appropriations Approves Funding to Kickstart Film Industry in State

By Corinne Murdock |

On Wednesday, the Arizona Senate Appropriations Committee passed budget legislation to offer tax credits to movie studios, after a previous effort on the matter failed. Legislators resurrected this effort by introducing it through a strike-everything amendment on HB2156 — its similar predecessor, SB1708, passed through the Senate but failed to make it to the House floor earlier this year. Analysis of the predecessor bill estimated that it would incur losses to the state averaging $150 million. 

The legislation would establish a program to promote workforce development and expansion of the movie industry. Further, movie companies would receive credits up to 15 percent if they spend up to $10 million in production costs, 17.5 percent if they spend over $10 million up to $35 million, and 20 percent if they spend over $35 million. 

According to the Nashville Film Institute (NFI), the average cost of making a feature film ranges between $100 and $150 million, though it noted that some comedy and animated feature films like those from DreamWorks average between $70 and $90 million. 

AZ Free News reviewed the production costs for mainstream feature films in theaters currently; all are well over $35 million. The blockbuster hit “Top Gun: Maverick” had a production budget of $170 million (as of this report, the film has grossed over $900 million worldwide in under a month). Pixar’s latest animated film, “Lightyear,” cost about $200 million to produce. The biopic, “Elvis,” had a significantly lower cost at $85 million.

The legislation would also limit tax credits exceeding $150 million in any calendar year from being preapproved. 

Nick Simonetta, a lobbyist, testified to the committee that leadership in both chambers wanted to move this bill at this time. Simonetta said that this version of the bill, HB2156, was an improvement on a predecessor tax credit bill passed by the committee in February, calling the updated bill the “Cadillac” of accountability.

“You cannot claim a credit in this state for the benefit of the program without paying taxes on the expenditures that you’re making,” said Simonetta. 

Simonetta testified that HB2156 was ultimately an infrastructure bill that would create a nonexistent industry in Arizona. He referenced two different movie filming complexes being built in the Scottsdale and Buckeye areas. 

“The folks investing in these facilities to build movie sound stage complexes and all the things that go with them — the buildings, the office space, the commissary, the mill space, the back lots, everything — this will be investments of hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars, even just for the first phases of these complexes,” said Simonetta.

State Senator Sonny Borrelli (R-Lake Havasu City) joked that he was only voting for the bill with the contingency that State Senator David Livingston (R-Peoria) didn’t get a movie role.

State Senator Kelly Townsend (R-Mesa) flipped her vote this time around, having voted against the legislation’s predecessor previously. Townsend didn’t offer an in-depth explanation on her change of heart. She joked that Simonetta’s “little extra explanation” past the cut-off time for his testimony was enough to change her mind. 

The Arizona Free Enterprise Club criticized the tax credit bill, arguing that it would cost Arizonans hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars to subsidize Hollywood liberals. 

Arizona Republican Party Political Director Jeremiah Cota commented that the tax credits only sweetened the deal for Democrats, and played into “woke” agendas contrary to Arizonan interests. 

The state’s previous tax credit program for movie companies that began in 2005 bled the state of millions of dollars. At the time, Canada introduced tax incentives that pulled movie companies away from Arizona and all other states. Incentives like Arizona’s tax credit program were launched in response to Canada as a means of enticing movie companies to return to the states. 

Arizona’s tax credit program lapsed officially in 2010, though it was shut down by the 2008 recession.

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.

House Republican’s Denial of ESG Discrimination Contradicted by Utah State Treasurer

House Republican’s Denial of ESG Discrimination Contradicted by Utah State Treasurer

By Corinne Murdock |

Once again, the existence of a decades-long strategy to suffocate political opposition through social justice-oriented investing criteria, or “social credit scores” determined by Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria, was affirmed on a global platform, just months after State Representative Joel John (R-Buckeye) denied its existence. John helped kill legislation preventing ESG discrimination, HB2656, because he said such a problem didn’t exist. 

“I’ve asked the sponsor to give me real-world examples of why this bill is needed, and I didn’t get that. I even got a call from my cousin, who doesn’t live in my district, telling me that this bill is needed and to pass it right now and I said ‘why is it a problem man? Help me understand,’” said John. “For those of us who happen to be in this chamber, but don’t live, eat, and breathe politics 24/7, when I’m not in this chamber I’m out in a remote area working on some irrigation project, but my cousin said this is going to negatively affect farmers. This is going to affect our community, and I said, ‘Oh wow. Would you please do me a favor and talk to some of those guys as to why this is a problem. That would really help me. So, I never did hear back.”

John didn’t respond to AZ Free News’ request for comment. 

Utah State Treasurer Marlo Oaks affirmed the reality of ESG discrimination in an interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson last week. Oaks explained that ESG was a “problematic” outgrowth of something investors call “socially responsible investing,” or “SRI.”

“ESG engages with companies and engages with the market to drive a political outcome. That’s why it’s so problematic,” said Oaks.

Oaks claimed that ESG was one of the reasons why Americans are facing high gas prices. He explained that there was a supply issue because companies lacked capital. Oaks attributed the 90 percent drop in investments — from 59 funds totaling $46.6 billion in 2015 to 11 funds totaling $4.6 billion in 2021 — to ESG discrimination.

“People have decided that they do not want to participate in the fossil fuel industry, and so they are cutting off capital,” said Oaks. 

The concept of ESG dates back to 2004, as Forbes reported in a 2008 investigative piece on the subject, when the former United Nations (UN) Secretary General Kofi Annan invited over 50 of the top financial institution CEOs at the time to an initiative to influence markets using ESG screens. Reports produced by this initiative coining the term ESG prompted the New York Stock Exchange to roll out its Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) in 2006 and the Sustainable Stock Exchange Initiative (SSEI) in 2007. 

At present, companies that apply ESG scoring look to Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics developed by the World Economic Forum (WEF), a pro-globalism lobbying organization, to determine their measure of ESG enforcement. 

Over 70 major international companies covering nearly all aspects of consumerism use the WEF metrics system, among them a number of financial services companies (emphasis added): Bank of America, Bayer, Boston Consulting Group, bp, Dell Technologies, Deloitte, Fidelity International, Heineken, Hyundai, IBM, Kia, Lord, Abbett & Co.Mastercard, Mitsubishi, Moderna, NASDAQ, Nestle, Paypal, Salesforce, Sony, and Unilever. 

The world’s greatest asset manager, BlackRock, is listed as one of WEF’s 100 strategic partners. Also listed are Amazon, AstraZeneca, Chevron, Cisco, Citi, Coca-Cola, General Electric (GE), Goldman Sachs, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Hitachi, Honeywell, HP, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Meta (Facebook), McKinsey & CompanyMorgan Stanley, PepsiCo, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, S&P Global, Uber, UPS, Verizon, Volvo, Volkswagen, and Western Union. (Again, we added emphasis to those financial services companies of interest). 

Although the WEF referred to their metrics system as one related to “capitalism,” their use of the term is contested. WEF Founder Klaus Schwab meant for his redefined version of “capitalism” to be understood through a term he coined, “stakeholder capitalism,” which posits that modern enterprises must serve those who benefit from corporate behavior, stakeholders, in addition to shareholders to achieve long-term growth and prosperity. Hence, social credit scores. 

Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.