by Terri Jo Neff | Apr 4, 2022 | News
By Terri Jo Neff |
Private companies are free to discriminate against a business which is connected in some way to the firearms industry, but they should not be able to contract with the State of Arizona or other public entities if they do so.
That is the gist of House Bill 2473, which would cut off government contracts to any company that will not certify it does not currently discriminate against a firearm manufacturer, retailer, wholesaler, supplier, or distributor, as well as a shooting range or firearm trade association. The company must also promise to not undertake such discrimination during the duration of the contract.
The intent is to prevent companies from using revenues procured from taxpayers to undermine the 2nd Amendment rights of those who paid for those contracts, according to HB2473’s sponsor, Rep. Frank Carroll.
HB2473 cleared the State House back in February and is now making its way through the Senate. Last week, Sen. David Gowan of the Senate Appropriations Committee welcomed testimony from people whose businesses have been impacted by discrimination against the firearms industry.
Among those who spoke was Tim Lowney, the vice president of operations for Sturm, Ruger & Company, which employees more than 400 Arizonans. Lowney told the committee that a few years ago Bank of America announced it would no longer do business with Ruger because it was part of the firearms industry.
“It was not based on any banking risks,” Lowney said, “We have a very strong balance sheet. We have virtually zero debt.”
Ruger, one of the top-rated gun manufacturers, was able to find another financial institution that wanted the company’s business, “but now that bank is starting to say the same thing,” Lowney said.
Carroll also addressed the committee, telling senators HB2473 “ensures corporations cannot benefit from contracts and subcontracts funded by taxpayers only to use their financial strength to unfairly discriminate against the firearm industry.”
His bill would apply to contracts valued at $100,000 or more offered by the State, a political subdivision of the state, or an agency, board, commission or department of the state or a political subdivision of the state.
The legislation stems in part from the Obama-era Operation Chokepoint to discourage -and in some cases, prevent- financial institutions such as banks and credit unions from providing services to a firearms manufacturer or even a neighborhood gun shop.
“Due to this deliberate action on the part of the Obama administration, some banks have ended relationships with legal and legitimate companies solely based on social and political views,” according to National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) which serves as the firearms industry trade association.
The position of NSSF is that corporations are “free to hold anti-Second Amendment policies if they choose” but should then forfeit their ability to compete in Arizona for public contracts which are funded by taxpayers.
HB2473 passed the Appropriations Committee and now awaits Senate President Karen Fann’s scheduling of a Third Reading to the full Senate.
The attention to attacks by private companies such as banks against the firearms industry comes as the NSSF recently released its 2022 Firearms and Ammunition Industry Economic Report.
According to the report, the industry generated more than $70.5 billion in revenue in 2021, driven by nearly 5.4 million new gun owners in 2021. And then there are the 375,000 jobs which support the industry and generated nearly $21.4 billion in wages at a time many industries were still reeling from the pandemic.
The NSSF reported about 169,000 of those workers are employed by gun and ammunition makers, wholesalers, and dealers. The other 206,000 or so are employed by suppliers and ancillary industries.
Nearly 12,000 of the jobs, along with $778,635 in wages, were based in Arizona, the report noted. That put Arizona in the top ten of total industry related jobs. The state is also in the top 10 states for federal excise taxes generated.
“The economic contributions of our industry are indisputably contributing to every state and every community,” NSSF CEO Joe Bartozzi said in a statement. “This is the hallmark of the hard-working men and women who prove that the American firearm and ammunition industry is strong.”
by Corinne Murdock | Jan 25, 2022 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
A proposed bill, HB2488, would prevent Arizona or any public utilities from entering into contracts with companies unless the contracts stipulate that they don’t and won’t rely on forced labor of the Uyghurs within China. The Uyghurs are a Muslim ethnic group that the Chinese government has detained in “reeducation camps” since 2017.
State Representative Justin Wilmeth (R-Phoenix) introduced the bill, pulling in nine cosponsors with him: Majority Whip Leo Biasiucci (R-Lake Havasu City) and Assistant Minority Leader Jennifer Longdon (D-Phoenix), along with State Representatives Shawnna Bolick (R-Phoenix), Frank Carroll (R-Sun City West), Joseph Chaplik (R-Scottsdale), Steve Kaiser (R-Phoenix), Teresa Martinez (R-Casa Grande), Quang Nguyen (R-Prescott), and Amish Shah (D-Phoenix).
If passed, states and any of its political subdivisions or agencies, boards, commissions, or departments would be limited from engaging in contracts without confirmation that labor hasn’t and won’t be derived from the imprisoned Uyghurs. The bill extends to organizations, associations, corporations, partnerships, joint ventures, limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships, limited liability companies or other entities or business associations including a wholly-owned subsidiary, majority-owned subsidiary, parent company, or affiliate that engages in for-profit activity and that has 10 or more full-time employees.
“A public entity may not enter into a contract with a company to acquire or dispose of services, supplies, information technology, goods or construction unless the contract includes a written certification that the company does not currently, and agrees for the duration of the contract that it will not, use: 1) The forced labor of ethnic Uyghurs in the People’s Republic of China. 2) Any goods or services produced by the forced labor of ethnic Uyghurs in the People’s Republic of China. 3) Any contractors, subcontractors, or suppliers that use the forced labor or any goods or services produced by the forced labor of ethnic Uyghurs in the People’s Republic of China.”
In a press release, Wilmeth alluded that the Uyghurs’ treatment is paramount to the 20th century detainments of the Jewish and Japanese peoples.
“As a student of history, I know what happens when good people remain silent,” stated Wilmeth. “The Chinese Communist Party keeping millions of people locked in internment camps, which harkens back to the darkest chapters of the 20th century. HB 2488 sends a strong message that the State of Arizona won’t do business with anyone that turns a blind eye to this horrible human rights abuse.”
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a report earlier this month on the Uyghurs explaining that the minority group is subject to forced labor within the textile, apparel, agricultural, consumer electronics, and other industries under threat of detention. Additionally, Uyghurs suffer forced assimilation efforts by outlawing their traditional dress and appearance, customs, and dietary laws; demolishing or shutting down mosques; reducing birth rates through forced sterilization and birth control; requiring their children attend state-run boarding schools; forcing them to renounce their beliefs; and installing Chinese spies and law enforcement within their homes and communities to monitor their compliance. The research reported that former detainees described poor detainment conditions: factory labor, crowded and unsanitary conditions, food deprivation, psychological coercion, sexual abuse, medical neglect, and even torture that sometimes led to death.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Dr. Thomas Patterson | Jan 21, 2022 | Opinion
By Dr. Thomas Patterson |
Democrats may have messed up on inflation, immigration, and Afghanistan, not to mention China, Russia, Covid, and crime, but they are determined to have a win over “voting rights.”
President Biden has declared it his number one issue, surpassing even climate change! With Americans becoming fed up with the Democrat governance, they see “voting rights” as their lifeline to future viability as a party.
So, President Biden echoes many of them when condemning voter ID. “There is an unfolding assault taking place in America today – an attempt to suppress and subvert the right to vote in free and fair elections, an assault on democracy, an assault on liberty, an assault on who we are as Americans.”
He further alleged that “bullies and merchants of fear and peddlers of lies are threatening the very foundations of our country.” He suggested that requiring ID is the moral equivalent of returning people to slavery.
The mantra is picked up and repeated millions of times. Outraged students conduct a hunger strike. Labor unions protest the loss of the franchise. Letters to the editor are filled with indignant condemnations of the Republican attack. Woke corporations punish Georgia for passing legislation threatening “voting rights” by moving baseball’s All-Star game to Minnesota.
But there’s one thing missing in all the heated rhetoric: any indication of what in the world they are specifically talking about, any evidence that one, even one, eligible voter would be unable to vote or be unduly inconvenienced by the election integrity legislation.
Their claims are belied by our own history and international comparisons. With 34 states involved in election integrity reforms, there are a lot of moving parts, but the sticking points are bulk mail voting and voter ID.
HR 1, the Right to Vote Act before Congress, which the Democrats and their Greek chorus in the media insist is critical to the preservation of democracy, mandates all states to allow bulk mail voting and categorically prohibits photo ID requirements.
But in 2005, the Carter-Baker Commission on Federal Election Reform examined these very issues. The bipartisan commission was headed by former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James Baker, a moderate Republican. They sensibly pointed out that absentee voting makes fraud more likely. Absentee voters are more likely to experience pressure and undue influence.
The Commission also concluded that vote buying schemes are far easier when citizens vote by mail. The commission proposed a uniform system requiring all voters to present ID as a condition of voting, like when entering the courthouse, flying in an airplane, or buying beer.
If the election integrity proposals are such a flagrant attack on democracy, then other democracies would not tolerate them, right? But the fact is the US is a distinct outlier among the world’s democracies in not requiring voter ID. Of the 47 European countries, 46 require government issued photo ID to vote, and the UK seems poised to follow suit.
By international standards, we also have shockingly loose rules for voting by mail. 35 of those 47 European countries don’t allow mail-in voting at all for citizens living in-country. 10 other countries allow absentee voting but require voters to appear in person with a photo ID to obtain their ballot. The practice of mailing out ballots in bulk either to all voters or those on a permanent list (Arizona’s practice) is unheard of.
In the US, ballots are typically mailed in bulk without requesting photo ID, no chain of evidence, no safeguards against improper influence or even selling, and then “harvested” for return to authorities.
This is tantamount to begging for fraud, even more so because perps know it would be largely undetectable. Entry-level reform, backed by 80% of voters, would require an ID to obtain any ballot, mail-in or otherwise
The wild charges about returning to Jim Crow and our democracy in peril are blatant scare tactics. Never in our history or anywhere else has there been more open access to voting.
This isn’t about stealing elections or justifying January 6. It’s about strengthening our democracy by assuring Americans they can have confidence in our elections and that their vote will count.
by Corinne Murdock | Nov 6, 2021 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Previous Democratic state representative Gabby Giffords alleged in a federal lawsuit that the National Rifle Association (NRA) broke campaign finance laws by using shell corporations to coordinate advertising with individuals running for federal office. The lawsuit alleged that the NRA illegally gave up to $35 million to the campaigns of at least seven candidates: previous President Donald Trump, who may have received up to $25 million; Republican Senators Josh Hawley (MO), Thom Tillis (NC), Ron Johnson (WI), Tom Cotton (AR); former Republican Senator Cory Gardner (CO); and Representative Matt Rosendale (MT).
These illegal contributions allegedly occurred in the 2014, 2016, and 2018 elections. In that last year, Giffords filed complaints to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against the NRA’s contributions. After the FEC didn’t act, Giffords sought and received a district court order this September to compel the FEC to act within 30 days. The FEC reportedly failed to act once again, allowing Giffords to sue. Those named in the complaint are the NRA, Rosendale, and Hawley.
Giffords’ counsel asserted that these allegedly illegal funds were the NRA “buying influence over elected officials” as part of a national scheme. Giffords Law Center Senior Staff Attorney David Pucino characterized the NRA and the politicians they backed financially as corrupt.
“The NRA has long acted like it is above the law, and it has done so flagrantly in the last several election cycles. This lawsuit demonstrates that the NRA broke the law by illegally coordinating with federal campaigns and funneling millions of dollars to candidates who supported their extremist, deadly agenda,” said Pucino. “We are suing the NRA to finally hold them accountable for actions that corrupted politicians and undermined our democracy.”
The NRA responded Thursday, asserting their innocence.
“[Just] another premeditated abuse of the public by our adversaries, who will stop at nothing in their pursuit of their anti-freedom agenda. This latest action is as misguided as it is transparent,” asserted the NRA. “Suffice it to say, the NRA has full confidence in its political activities and remains eager to set the record straight.”
Giffords’ lawsuit describes how she co-founded her gun violence nonprofit in 2013 to compete directly with the NRA after surviving a targeted shooting in 2011. The other co-founder was her husband, Democratic Senator Mark Kelly.
As AZ Free News reported in September, Kelly never recused himself from voting on President Joe Biden’s since-retracted nominee for the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), David Chipman, who his nonprofit hired, endorsed, and backed financially.
The lawsuit requests relief in the form of limited funding in future elections and a penalty payment matching their allegedly illegal contributions: up to $35 million.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by AZ Free News | Jul 20, 2021 | News
PHOENIX — Governor Doug Ducey today selected Bob Herbold, whose foundation provides scholarships to higher education students, and Jessica Pacheco, an active member of the community with years of leadership experience, to fill recent vacancies on the Arizona Board of Regents.
“Bob and Jessica are both actively involved in communities throughout Arizona, and they have vast experience in public service and leadership roles,” said Governor Ducey. “I’m grateful for their commitment to serving Arizona’s students, universities and taxpayers. I know they will be excellent additions to the Board of Regents.”
The selection of Herbold and Pacheco will fill vacancies made by Kathryn Hackett King and Karrin Taylor Robson, who ended their terms early to pursue other opportunities.
Herbold is the President of The Herbold Foundation, which provides scholarships to master’s and PhD students in the areas of engineering and computer science at several universities. He is the Managing Director of The Herbold Group and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
In 1994, Herbold joined Microsoft as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, retiring in 2001. During his tenure in that position, he was responsible for finance, corporate marketing, market research, manufacturing and distribution, information systems, human resources, and public relations. From 2001 to 2003, Herbold worked half-time for Microsoft as Executive Vice President assisting in customer, industry, and government issues.
Prior to joining Microsoft, Herbold spent 26 years at The Procter & Gamble Company. In his last 5 years with P&G, he served as senior Vice President of Marketing and Information Services. In that role, he was responsible for the company’s worldwide marketing/brand management operations as well as all marketing related services such as media and retail promotion programs. He was also responsible for the worldwide information technology and market research organizations.
Herbold also has extensive experience as a corporate board member, having served on the boards of directors of Agilent Technologies, Neptune Orient Shipping Lines, Weyerhaeuser and many others over the past 20 years.
Herbold has a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from the University of Cincinnati and both a master’s degree in mathematics and a Ph.D. in computer science from Case Western Reserve University. He has received honorary doctorate degrees from the Case Western Reserve University, the University of Cincinnati and the Thunderbird School of Global Management.
“I’m honored to be selected to join the Board of Regents by Governor Ducey,” said Herbold. “Arizona’s universities do an excellent job in serving students, maintaining talented educators and engaging with their communities — and I look forward to helping the Board of Regents to build on this continued success.”
Pacheco, currently is a managing partner at Horizon Strategies where she leads local engagement and policy strategies. She has extensive private sector experience and for over 22 years held various executive positions in a Pinnacle West Capital Corporation, including Vice President of Corporate Development and External Communications, Vice President of External Communications, and Vice President of State and Local Affairs.
Pacheco’s primary responsibilities at Pinnacle West Capital Corporation, the parent company of Arizona Public Service Company, included state and local engagement strategies, policy strategy, reputation and brand management, external and customer communications, economic development within the utility service territory and developing and expanding business opportunities within the unregulated entities under the parent umbrella.
Pacheco serves as President of the Board of Directors for the Arizona-Mexico Commission and serves on the Executive Committee for the Arizona Chamber of Commerce. She is active as a director with a number of other community and business organizations. Pacheco is a past chair of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce Foundation, past director for the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Board and Maricopa Community College Foundation Board and is past chair of the Border Trade Alliance Board.
Pacheco earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Arizona and is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese. She has taught a seminar at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business on utility engagement in public policy and campaign management. She is a graduate of the Stanford Executive Program and the Nuclear Reactor Technology Course at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
