The Range gave Demitri Downing space to rebut my posts about the race for the two House seats in Legislative District 9. I’ve maintained that people who object to right wing stances against abortion rights and sensible gun regulation shouldn’t be voting for self-described moderate Ethan Orr. Giving Demitri a chance to air his views is fine by me. He has the right to his opinion, and I’ve had this space pretty much to myself when it comes to the LD-9 race. But you know that old saying about being entitled to your own opinions, not your own facts? Well, Demitri makes one assertion as fact which is so jaw-droppingly incorrect, I can’t let it go unchallenged:
The Democratic Party, acting according to their nature to sting Republicans, has focused solely on two “fear” issues, abortion and guns — issues rarely the subject of meaningful legislation. [Boldface added for emphasis]
Abortion and guns are “rarely the subject of meaningful legislation,” Demitri? Seriously? Meaningful bills related to abortion and guns are staples of state legislatures across the country, especially where Republicans are in the majority, and Arizona’s Tea Party-led legislature is no exception. It’s possible, I suppose, that Downing doesn’t know the meaning of the word “meaningful.” But if he does, his wildly inaccurate statement makes me wonder if he believes the rest of what he writes about Orr’s effectiveness in Phoenix, or if he really believes Orr would have any influence at all with his Republican colleagues if he were given another two years, seeing as how his patron, Jan Brewer, would be gone — face it, DuVal and Ducey just aren’t that into Ethan — and he’d go up there with “RINO” stamped on his forehead because of his votes with Brewer on Medicaid and the budget.
There’s simply no question about it, Arizona has seen plenty of meaningful legislation on guns and abortions over the past few years. Here are some of the highlights — or lowlights, depending on your point of view.
First, guns. In the 2013 and 2014 legislative sessions, Republicans proposed nearly 20 bills to weaken gun laws. Nine passed and were sent to Governor Brewer. She signed six into law, but three others were more than she could stomach, so she vetoed them. Among the bills she signed were ones allowing people to carry guns into bars, limiting record keeping on gun possession and purchase, and prohibiting destroying firearms in government buyback programs. Brewer vetoed bills that would have allowed people to carry guns into government buildings that didn’t have weapon screening devices and would have imposed civil penalties on any elected officials who attempted to pass gun-related legislation that was different from state law.
Sounds like some meaningful legislation to me. A few of the bills were so “meaningful,” Brewer felt she had to pull out her veto pen to stop them from becoming law. And that’s just during the two most recent legislative sessions — and just the bills that passed. Earlier years brought lots of other meaningful gun-related laws to Arizona, and some of the bills tabled over the past few sessions are waiting in the wings for next year’s legislature.
The abortion-related legislation was plenty meaningful as well. During the past two sessions, when Orr was in the legislature, one significant bill was signed by Brewer. It allowed unannounced inspections of abortion clinics. But if you look back a few years, lots of other meaningful bills limiting women’s right to reproductive choice became law, including: Protection for doctors who withhold information from or don’t provide medical testing for a patient if they think it might lead to an abortion; Requiring physicians to have admitting privileges at the nearest hospital if they provide abortions; Prohibiting organizations from participating in the state’s tax credits for the working poor if they provide, pay for, give coverage for abortions or even refer people to abortion providers; Prohibiting physicians’ assistants from performing abortion by pill; and Reclassifying abortion by pill as “surgical abortion” rather than “medical abortion” to make it more difficult for women to gain access to that method.
There’s no denying bills are meaningful if they make it easier for guns to fall into the hands of dangerous people and allow people to carry their guns in places where they can injure or kill others. And there’s no denying bills creating roadblocks to women’s access to abortion are meaningful. We’ve seen many of those bills make their way through the legislature over the past few years, and we’re certain to see more in the next few legislative sessions.
Anyone in LD-9 who wants to be represented by someone who will support right wing bills on guns and abortion should vote for Ethan Orr. People who object to those bills should choose Randy Friese and Victoria Steele. No matter how hard Orr has tried to brush aside those issues — “Nothing to see here folks, move along” — they are critical to Arizona’s future.
This article appears in Oct 30 – Nov 5, 2014.
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Thank you, David, for pointing out the absurdity of Mr. Downing’s arguments on behalf of Representative Orr. Downing’s comment above is a pathetic indication of the level of his logic and the integrity of his insight.
Due to location we cannot vote for or against Ethan Orr, who seems rather good when compared with so many others in the “super majority” that has reigned in Phoenix like a right-wing gaggle of geese – loud, chauvinistic, backward and embarrassing . The Weekly has even mentioned that Orr bravely withstood the gaggle a couple of times. But after reading the Demetri Downing piece, it seems DD misses the point and chooses pragmatism over policy improvements for everyone both within and outside of the supermajority, and thin skin is not helpful. If I were Ethan Orr, I’d tell him to cool his jets — too late.
Due to location we cannot vote for or against Ethan Orr, who seems rather good when compared with so many others in the “super majority” that has reigned in Phoenix like a right-wing gaggle of geese – loud, chauvinistic, backward, embarrassing and with no shame nor compromise. The Weekly has even mentioned that Orr bravely withstood the gaggle a couple of times. But after reading the Demetri Downing piece, it seems DD misses the point and chooses pragmatism over policy improvements for everyone both within and outside of the supermajority, and thin skin is not helpful. If I were Ethan Orr, I’d tell him to cool his jets — too late.
David, it might be time for you to take a permanent school vacation because you, once again misstate the legislation for your own agenda {which has nothing to do with teaching}.
I defend Az on the national forums for not only the mistakes we have the guts to make but the responsible legislation eventually signed by the governor.
Before I go any further, David, I’d like to buy you lunch and maybe gather with a group of your supporters as well as detractors on some of these issues. I make the same offer to others on the national forums to come to this great state, expenses paid, to see first hand the problems they comment about based on what is in the media. Don’t worry, I will be armed only with my mind & wallet.
Az gun laws are the best in the nation. The one you reference about taking guns into bars is more specific than you recklessly make it out to be.
Like you, I haven’t read the bill about doctors and hospitals but given a recent, but different , high profile death of a popular entertainer in a clinic unprepared for that emergency I would favor the requirement for doctors to be affiliated with hospitals if it meant they were under closer scrutiny for their certifications. If this bill is anti~abortion then shame on the state but instead of just condemning the legislature turn the bill into something that is of benefit to all.
Let me know where you’d like to have lunch.
Harold, I think you should read my post a little more carefully. The post wasn’t about whether the legislation was good or bad. I said it was “meaningful legislation,” to dispute Downing’s statement that abortion and guns are “issues rarely the subject of meaningful legislation.” The way you talk about the legislation makes me believe you agree on that point. Whether we agree about abortion or guns, we both appear to agree that Arizona has voted on and passed meaningful legislation on those issues.
“First, guns. In the 2013 and 2014 legislative sessions, Republicans proposed nearly 20 bills to weaken gun laws.”
Neutral or bias?
I don’t agree with faith based legislation about abortion just as I don’t accept unacceptable positions on any of our Constitutional rights.
Harold, my positions on abortion and guns are clear and always have been. But once again, though my position came through in the post, that wasn’t my main point. Ethan Orr wants to avoid the issues of abortion and guns, hoping they won’t matter in the election because they’ll draw away some people who might otherwise vote for him. My point is, voters should consider the candidates’ stands on those as well as other issues. In my final paragraph, I recommend that people who agree with Orr’s position on those two issues should vote for him and people who disagree should vote for Friese and Steele.
Well, David, maybe I misunderstood the title of this topic….or the nuance was lost on a clear thinker like me ;-}