Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Arizona's Tea-Publican Neo-Confederate dead-enders are a bunch of slackers! Montana's Tea-Publican Neo-Confederate dead-enders are putting you to shame.
Just this past week, Montana Bill Defies Supremacy Of All Federal Laws:
Among a slate of far-reaching gun bills
that cleared the Montana House Judiciary Committee this week was one
that takes defiance of federal authority far beyond the Second Amendment
context. The “Sheriffs First” bill would require federal agents to seek county sheriffs’ permission
before enforcing any federal law, and empowers those sheriffs to arrest
federal agents who don’t comply for kidnapping. The bill also mandates county attorneys to prosecute any claim by a sheriff against a federal official.
The “Sheriffs First” bill is one of a number of unconstitutional state
bills that have threatened to flout federal authority, through nullification of federal gun laws, discretion to nullify any laws they don’t like, and criminalizing federal enforcement of gun laws. The bill also tracks a movement
by county sheriffs who have refused to enforce federal gun laws on the
belief they are the highest law enforcement authorities – above federal
authorities.
Similar “Sheriffs First”
bills were introduced but not passed in several states in 2011 and
2012 [including here in Arizona], and another bill was also introduced in Indiana in January.
* * *
[B]oth the full Montana House and Senate must pass the bill before it can go before the voters. Other bills
also cleared by the state’s House Judiciary Committee would ”let
college students bring guns to campus, allow high school students to
leave guns locked in their cars, and clear the way for nearly anyone to
carry concealed weapons without a permit,” according to the Missoulian.
OK, Arizona was out in front of Montana on that last one. It's been law here for a few years. The Wild West Returns: Montana Bill Would Allow Everyone To Carry A Concealed Weapon: "[O]ne measure would allow almost anyone to carry a concealed weapon without applying for a permit or undergoing mental screening." No weapons safety training or proficiency is required in Arizona.
And just for fun there is this bill from the Montana legislature. Montana Bill Would Give Corporations The Right To Vote:
A bill introduced by Montana state Rep. Steve Lavin would give corporations the right to vote in municipal elections:
Provision for vote by corporate property owner. (1) Subject to subsection (2), if
a firm, partnership, company, or corporation owns real property within
the municipality, the president, vice president, secretary, or other
designee of the entity is eligible to vote in a municipal election as provided in [section 1].(2) The individual who is designated to vote by the entity is
subject to the provisions of [section 1] and shall also provide to the
election administrator documentation of the entity’s registration with
the secretary of state under 35-1-217 and proof of the individual’s
designation to vote on behalf of the entity.
The idea that “corporations are people, my friend”
as Mitt Romney put it, is sadly common among conservative lawmakers.
Most significantly of all, the five conservative justices voted in Citizens United v. FEC
to permit corporations to spend unlimited money to influence elections.
Actually giving corporations the right to vote, however, is quite a
step beyond what even this Supreme Court has embraced.
The bill does contain some limits on these new corporate voting
rights. Most significantly, corporations would not be entitled to vote
in “school elections,” and the bill only applies to municipal elections.
So state and federal elections would remain beyond the reach of the new
corporate voters.
In fairness to Lavin’s fellow lawmakers, this bill was tabled shortly after it came before a legislative committee, so it is unlikely to become law.
I hesitated to post about this bill because sure as hell, ALEC, the Goldwater Institute and Americans For Prosperity are going to introduce this bill in the Arizona legislature next session.
The Arizona legislature may put the AZ in "crAZy," but there are other Tea-Publican dominated legislatures that are equally as bad.