imported post
ACTION ALERT! Senator Waring sabotages pro-rights bills.
The pressure you put on the Rules committees last week had an impact!The log jam has broken, and AzCDL requested and supported pro-rights bills are finally moving towards floor votes in the House and Senate.
HB 2389, an AzCDL requested bill that clarifies that it is permissible to carry a weapon, without a CCW permit, visibly or concealed, anywhere within a means of transportation, excluding public transit, passed out of the Senate Committee of the Whole (COW) on Tuesday, May 13, 2008.However, amendments were added during the COW debate, by Senators Cheverount, O’Halleran and Waring, which did not alter the existing language of HB 2389, but advanced their issues.You can read each amendment here:
Cheverount Amendment
O’Halleran Amendment
Waring Amendment
Unfortunately, without informing AzCDL or either bill’s prime sponsor,
Senator Waring included the language of
HB 2634 (Rep. Murphy’s bill that allows former felons whose right to bear arms have been restored to obtain a CCW permit.See page 19, lines 23-25of Senator Waring’s
amendment).Adding this language could effectively kill both bills at the same time if the Governor should veto HB 2389.AzCDL must now try to get HB 2389 into a Conference Committee, where the differences between the original House version and the amended Senate version can be worked out in favor of law-abiding gun owner’s rights.We must also now ensure that HB 2634 continues to move through the process, and that no excuses are used that “the bill has already been debated”, since it has not been, as apparently no one was aware of this maneuver but Sen. Waring.
It’s time to let
Senator Waring know that YOU don’t appreciate his actions.His contact information is as follows:
Phone: 602-926-4916
Fax: 602-417-3150
Email:
jwaring@azleg.gov .
Personalized letters are always preferred.Below is a sample letter you can use as a template. Please be sure to include your name, address, and phone number in all correspondence.
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Subject: HB 2389 & HB 2634 sabotage
Senator Waring:
The Arizona Citizens Defense League (AzCDL) has informed me that the amendment you added to HB 2389 contains language that could facilitate the defeat of both HB 2389 and HB 2634 if HB 2389, in its current form, goes to the governor.
Instead of just amending HB 2389 with language from bills you had sponsored, you added the language from Representative Murphy’s HB 2634, allowing former felons whose right to bear arms had been restored to obtain a CCW permit.HB 2634 enjoys broad bi-partisan support, passing in the House with a unanimous (59-0-1) vote.It stands a good chance of becoming law.
If the Governor should veto HB 2389 containing the language from HB 2634, then HB 2634 is effectively dead.Why would you wish to give an opposition party Governor the opportunity for a “two-for-one” veto of good, pro-rights legislation?If the Republican party is going to be moving in that direction, what incentive do I, as a gun owner and supporter of the right to keep and bear arms, have to go to the polls this fall?
The only way to mend this situation, and your reputation among gun owners in Arizona, is to see to it that HB 2389 is heard in a Conference Committee, and have the language from HB 2634 removed before the bill is sent to the Governor.
Senator Waring, do the right thing!
Sincerely,
Your name
Street Address
City, State & zip
telephone number
:arrow:
Meanwhile
HB 2634, the original AzCDL requested bill that clarifies that a person with an expunged or set-aside felony conviction, or one who has had their rights restored, may obtain a concealed weapons permit, finally passed out of the Senate Rules Committee on May 12, 2008.Next stop is Senate COW, assuming that Senate leadership is still willing to hear the bill on the floor.Its fate could be dependent on removing the same language from the amended HB 2389.
We do have some good news!
SB 1070, an AzCDL requested bill that makes it easier for lawful gun owners who have satisfactorily completed training to obtain a permit, or renew an expired one, and
SB 1106, Senator Chuck Gray's bill that provides for an optional lifetime CCW permit, both passed out of the House Rules Committee on May 13, 2008.From here they move on to the House COW.
