Wednesday, Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ-03) requested that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) cease confiscating illegal Sikh migrants’ religious items. Grijalva, along with Representatives Joaquin Castro (D-TX-20) and Judy Chu (D-CA-27), insisted that the practice constituted a violation of religious freedom.
Grijalva later told Arizona Luminaria that Americans were too busy complaining about the border crisis to notice that the illegal immigrants were enduring religious disrespect.
“All these festering issues get overwritten because everybody starts screaming about the border and the invasion, and so these go into the background,” said Grijalva. “I don’t think they’re background issues. Border Patrol is the largest law enforcement agency with the least amount of accountability in the country. And that’s the problem.”
Grijalva is worried about religious freedoms for small minority groups but he was absent when the religious freedoms of Catholics and christians were attacked by the government during COVID. Where was he? Where was he when the government shut down our churches. pic.twitter.com/VwU9kNHeG0
Sikhism requires followers to wear a steel bracelet, uncut hair and beards, and a turban. The three representatives admonished CBP for reports of Sikh turbans and other religious items being confiscated at the border.
The trio issued their complaint letter to CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus. The commissioner pledged earlier this month to investigate, but the three representatives insist that there hasn’t been progress.
Grijalva’s religious liberty stance is nuanced. He opposed the Trump administration’s protections for contractors whose religious beliefs dictated their employment decisions for LGBTQ+ individuals.
“Religion is not a license to discriminate,” tweeted Grijalva.
The Trump Admin is attacking #LGBTQ protections under the guise of 'protecting religious freedom.'
Religion is not a license to discriminate, and it's time to pass the Equality Act to give LGBTQ Americans the protections they deserve. https://t.co/Hf6xWyPlL6
Grijalva identifies himself a Catholic, but doesn’t believe that Christians may oppose LGBTQ+ lifestyles. He called former President Donald Trump’s 2017 attendance of the Values Voter Summit “repulsive” because of its sponsorship by the religious think tank opposed to LGBTQ+ lifestyles, the Family Research Council (FRC).
Last month, Grijalva voted to codify same-sex marriage into federal law: the Respect for Marriage Act. The law would repeal a 1996 protection for states that don’t recognize same-sex marriage.
Grijalva was joined in his vote Arizona’s other Democratic representatives, who also identify as Catholic: Representatives Tom O’Halleran (D-AZ-01), Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ-02), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-07), and Greg Stanton (D-AZ-09).
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
On Sunday, Secretary of State and gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs announced that she booked the drag queen who’s spoken out against her opponent, Kari Lake, over their past friendship.
Social media posts by the drag queen, Richard Stevens, went viral in June for showcasing his past friendship with Lake as well as her support and enthusiasm for the drag queen lifestyle.
Stevens spoke out in mid-June after Lake criticized the normalization of drag queens publicly. He called her a hypocrite, claiming that he did a drag queen performance for her birthday with children present years ago, and that she attended his performances at various Phoenix bars.
They kicked God out of schools and welcomed the Drag Queens.
They took down our Flag and replaced it with a rainbow.
They seek to disarm Americans and militarize our Enemies.
As proof, Stevens posted photos of Lake standing alongside two drag queens, one of them being him. In one of the photos, Lake was dressed as Elvis Presley and posing alongside Seville dressed as a blonde female with a sugar skull face. It’s unclear whether whether Lake intended to dress as a “drag king,” which is cross-dressing for a woman, or merely intended to wear a costume for a themed party.
“Now that @karilake has waded into the war on drag queens, know she is a complete hypocrite,” wrote Stevens. “Kari was a friend of mine, and I stood by her when she turned to the right. I reached out (and she responded repeatedly) when she took a public drubbing.”
Lake served Stevens a cease-and-desist letter. Incidentally, Stevens was preparing to perform for a “family-friendly” drag show brunch when he received the letter.
In response, Stevens’ lawyer Thomas Ryan called Lake a “bully” and threatened to provide evidence that Lake hired Stevens to perform for a news anchor friend’s baby shower.
“Now Kari is a bully, and the reservoir of goodwill she had built up over the years as a cherished news anchor — well, that’s been drained to the point where we might as well just refer to her now as Kari Puddles,” wrote Ryan.
@tomryanlaw has notified @KariLake I will not cease or desist telling the truth about my relationship with her.
The Arizona Senate Republican caucus pledged in June to introduce legislation banning child attendance at drag shows. The leaders said that drag shows sexualized and groomed children. They noted that they were working with several other states to draft the legislation.
“If men want to dress as women, and if adults want to participate in watching these hyper-sexualized performances, they have the freedom to do so. It crosses the line when kids are subjected to these drag shows,” wrote the caucus. “We will be damned if we won’t fight like hell to protect the most innocent from these horrifying and disturbing trends that are spreading across the nation now that extremist Democrats are currently in control of our federal government.”
JOINT STATEMENT BY THE ARIZONA STATE SENATE MAJORITY TEAM: Senate Republicans Fight Back Against the Sexual Perversion Children Are Being Exposed To
Their announcement followed a series of reports on the controversies following drag shows across the state. In May, a Tucson high school counselor who organized a drag show for students was arrested for having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student. In June, a Phoenix museum hosted a drag show open to children.
Studies have linked youth exposure to sexually explicit material with risky sexual behaviors, intimacy disorders, sexual violence and misconduct, and sexual deviancy.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Last week, Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) revealed that he doesn’t believe there should be a wall along the entire border.
In an interview with Fox News last Thursday, Kelly said that technology was better than a barrier at some parts of the border. He added that saving money was more important than a complete border wall, too.
“I’ve spent a lot of time on our southern border. And it didn’t take me long to realize that different parts of our border need a different approach,” said Kelly. “In some places we need physical barriers, especially near population centers like Yuma, Nogales, Douglas, El Paso[.] In other places technology is more important, it’s more cost-effective.”
That doesn’t mean the senator disapproved of Governor Doug Ducey’s emergency completion of the border wall sans federal approval
The day before admitting his sentiment on a comprehensive border wall, Kelly signaled approval of Ducey’s initiative in an interview with KTAR. Kelly also acknowledged that the border situation was a crisis.
“I understand the governor’s sentiment on this and why he wanted to do that,” said Kelly. “There’s a crisis at the border and it’s important to address it.”
2️⃣ more border wall gaps near Yuma are CLOSED 🚫
Arizona’s fast and efficient border barrier mission will help law enforcement better control and maintain safety at the border. pic.twitter.com/OosUToqSwo
Kelly has consistently voted against total completion of the border wall since President Joe Biden took office. Last February, both Kelly and Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) voted against an amendment prohibiting cancellation of the border wall construction contracts. Earlier this month, Kelly and Sinema joined their entire party to vote against numerous border security provisions such as wall completion the week prior.
Ira Mehlman, media director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), told AZ Free News that Kelly’s votes earlier this month against including border security provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), such as funds to finish the border wall, confirmed that the senator isn’t truly in favor of securing the border.
“Actions speak louder than words. There was an opportunity for every one of the 50 Democrats to demonstrate how they felt about border security,” said Mehlman. “Kelly’s obviously trying to walk a fine line here. He understands that what’s happening is not popular in Arizona, but he does need a political base that he does need to turn out. That might be behind the Biden administration’s sudden willingness to do some more construction on the wall.”
Kelly’s public remarks compared to his voting would also explain his approach with Sinema to support niche border security efforts, such as increased funding for Border Patrol staffing and management announced in March, but not completion of the border wall.
Kelly took credit for the Biden administration’s promise last month to close border wall gaps by the Morelos Dam, which abuts Yuma.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
On Sunday, Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-WY) announced that she would work through a new PAC to defeat Trump-endorsed candidates, which she equated with “election deniers,” come November. Cheney, who voted to impeach the former president and headed the controversial January 6 Committee, lost her primary race last week.
Within hours of losing the primary, Cheney converted her campaign committee into a PAC, “The Great Task,” consolidated with its predecessor, “Great Task PAC.” That PAC is starting out with over $15 million.
Cheney discussed her plan in an interview with ABC on Sunday. She said that her January 6 Committee work offered a “tremendous contribution” to her ongoing effort to “educate the American people” on the 2020 election.
“I’m going to be very focused on working to ensure that we do everything we can not to elect election deniers,” said Cheney. “[W]e’ve got election deniers that have been nominated for really important positions all across the country. And I’m going to work against those people, I’m going to work to support their opponents[.]”
What I'm fighting for is the Constitution. What I'm fighting for is the perpetuation of the Republic. What I'm fighting for is the fact that elections have to matter. pic.twitter.com/uHYt4sOgZ7
Cheney named her new PAC after a phrase President Abraham Lincoln used in his Gettysburg Address. She also likened herself to Lincoln in her concession speech last week. Cheney has also teased a future presidential run, though she didn’t confirm to ABC on Sunday whether that would be as a Republican or independent.
Arizona’s Trump-endorsed candidates are Blake Masters (U.S. Senate), Kari Lake (Governor), Mark Finchem (Secretary of State), Abraham Hamadeh (Attorney General), David Farnsworth (State House), Anthony Kern (State Senate), Wendy Rogers (State Senate), Robert Scantlebury (State Senate), and Janae Shamp (State Senate).
One of the top independent donors to Cheney’s Great Task PAC was James (Jim) Kennedy, chairman of Arizona’s top communications provider, Cox Enterprises, who gave $10,800.
Several days before her primary election, Cheney issued a final campaign video titled “The Great Task,” to criticize Trump and election critics as supportive of a “cancerous lie.”
“No one who understands our nation’s laws, no one with an honest, honorable, genuine commitment to our Constitution would say that [the 2020 election was rigged and stolen],” said Cheney.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
It’s been almost two years, and there’s been no follow-up on the death threat against Congressman Paul Gosar (R-AZ-04). Though the threat made national headlines, it appears that nothing ever came of it. Our reporters attempted to contact Capitol Police, but they didn’t issue any responses by press time.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) issued no updates on the death threat, though they’ve made other arrests for similar death threats since then. Gosar confirmed to AZ Free News that he wasn’t aware if the Capitol Police followed through with their investigation of the death threat against him.
“I am not aware of any action being taken on that death threat. I am not privy to the internal decision making of the Capitol Police or the reasons some threats are investigated and not charged and some are not investigated at all,” said Gosar.
The threat against Gosar was one of the more well-known of 8,600 threats against Congress reported to Capitol Police in 2020 — an uptick from the 6,900 in 2019 but less than the 9,600 from last year.
In January, Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger informed the House Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee that they haven’t been able to keep up with threats against Congress since the January 6 invasion of the Capitol.
It’s a felony to threaten a congressman, one that carries up to a 5 to 10 year prison sentence. Comparatively, Gosar has faced repercussions these past two years for behaviors perceived to communicate violence.
Last November, the House censured and removed Gosar from his committees for publicizing an anime meme in which Republican representatives’ likenesses were superimposed on anime heroes who battled and slayed anime villains bearing Democratic leaders’ likenesses. Gosar was the House’s first censure in over a decade, prompting a 4-hour debate.
The meme video was a parody of the popular anime show, “Attack on Titan.”
Since the January 6 invasion of the Capitol, Gosar has faced consistent attacks for promoting and participating in the preceding rally. Gosar has been the focus of the Democrats’ Senate select committee investigating January 6.
Earlier this year, a Democrat-backed, progressive nonprofit, Free Speech For People, unsuccessfully challenged the legitimacy of Gosar’s re-election campaign, as well as the campaigns of Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) and State Representative Mark Finchem (R-Oro Valley) for organizing the January 6 protest.
Breaking: The AZ Supreme Court just ruled that me, @RepAndyBiggsAZ and @RealMarkFinchem will remain on the ballot. The Democrats lose again and now have to try to beat us at the ballot box. ✔️Free Speech Wins ✔️No “Insurrection” no Disqualification Clause pic.twitter.com/Ct3RvtekSu
“I think it’s totally OK for me to come with my gun and shoot you in the head,” said the woman. “That’s what we think of you, Mr. Gosar. You’re a murderer supporter and you are just going down. Murderer, murderer, murderer supporter, you are going down. And we’ll make sure we’ll send lots of protesters your way too. You’re a real big f*****g piece of s**t.”
Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ), who Spangenberg supported, condemned the threat against Gosar’s life. Kelly’s wife, Gabrielle Giffords, is the survivor of an assassination attempt.
“I strongly condemn this threat against Rep. Gosar,” wrote Kelly. “Threats of violence like this are wrong. I’m glad Capitol Police is investigating.”
I know what it means to have an act of violence committed against a Member of Congress and family member. I strongly condemn this threat against Rep. Gosar. Threats of violence like this are wrong. I’m glad Capitol Police is investigating.
With nearly $7,000 becoming available for every K-12 student to attend a private school or be homeschooled through the recent expansion of Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs), the Arizona Department of Education’s website has been overwhelmed with parents seeking to apply.
The credit becomes available on Sept. 24 but the number of parents applying in advance has created issues for the Department of Education’s website. An advisory posted to the website this week noted “high volume” may cause users to receive an error message when trying to establish an account.
On Saturday, Ducey took to Twitter as word spread about the tremendous interest.
Parents are laying on the pressure! They want options and are excited about Arizona’s universal education savings accounts. https://t.co/aa10cKAufp
The ESA expansion legislation sponsored by Rep. Ben Toma provides families of all 1.1 million of Arizona’s K-12 students the option of allocating 90 percent of state funding which would have been allocated to the student’s district or charter school and have it be available for private school tuition, home-schooling, tutoring, and other educational needs such as transportation, textbooks, and computers.
Among the permitted expenditures for homeschoolers is the cost of specialized teachers for subjects such as foreign language, art, and music.
Homeschoolers can and do apply to this already. Originally it was only for people in D rated school zones. Now anyone who wants to homeschool can pull their tax dollars and use on curriculum and tutors and mentors etc. I know, I am a paid music teacher for a few families.
Ducey presided over a Aug. 17 ceremonial signing of HB2853. He later said making ESAs available to all of Arizona’s K-12 students was putting “the power back in the hands of parents, who are best suited to make decisions for their children’s education.”
Jenny Clark, founder of Love Your School, attended last week’s ceremony (Ducey actually signed HB2853 on July 7). Clark says Arizona’s ESA program can be life-changing for Arizona’s students.
“My five children have benefitted from ESAs and I can’t help but think how many kids don’t get the help they need,” Clark said. “Now, they will. Every child in Arizona will have the same opportunities and ability to get the education tailored to their needs.”
Corey A. DeAngelis of the Federation for Children was one of the stakeholders involved in ensuring passage of HB2853, calling it “a national model” that empowers parents. He too used Twitter to comment on what the high demand on the ADE website means.
“This is why the government school monopoly fights so hard against giving families a choice,” DeAngelis wrote. “They’re terrified. They know parents want alternatives.”
