Amazing. The AZ GOP controlled state house refuses to allow any vote to repeal the state's territorial era abortion ban. This is the latest example of the trap the GOP set for itself when it became identified as the party of the Religious Right. In a way, I wish I could be sure that the Republican representatives were voting their conscience. But they aren’t. They are voting to satisfy their increasingly rigid and brutal masters even though they know doing so may prove to be political suicide. The Unholy Alliance is no longer an equal partnership.
Arizona has ballot initiative, so people there can go around a poorly-led legislature. I expect Democrats there would have a field day with that.
Reporting from Arizona, I can assure you this state is trending Blue, and this is going to give it a huge push in November. Statewide offices are all Blue. Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, and both US Senators. (There is no lieutenant governor.) Biden also won the state. The only reason there is any Red at all is because Arizona is a dichotomy: two large cities and a bunch of rural areas (where Red dominates). Like the country overall, rural areas are both Red and over-represented. Even with that, both legislative houses are held by Republicans with very slim majorities. This is a tipping point.
Living next to Arizona, the impression I've formed is that the state tends to go its own way whether the Democrats or the Republicans are in office. There was nothing surprising when Governor Ducey refused to take a call from then President Trump as Ducey was signing the Electoral vote certificate. Ducey is very conservative but he isn't out of his mind.
The AZ Legislature passed a repeal and Gov. Hobbs will sign it. The result is that AZ will have a 15 week ban. Trending Blue, indeed!
Let's hope there isn't too much trending blue. There is only so much stupidity and ineptness we can take. The Red side isn't much better but they are better. The Governor of New Mexico makes the Governor of Texas look like a superstar. Just saying. The primary industries in New Mexico appear to be Marijuana Dispensaries and Abortion. They do have some good skiing! But if you are smoking the ganga weed you just don't care. I heard one therapist say that pot smokers get "GAS syndrome". Don't give a s@#$t.
I usually stay out of political discussions, but I hit “New Posts” and here I am. The decision of abortion has, in my opinion, rightfully been returned to the states, via the 10th Amendment. The 10th Amendment, which is pretty clear in language and intent, is the most ignored Constitutional Amendment when it comes to court challenges and decisions. If anyone can find the word “abortion”, or any phrases that even suggest it, in the US Constitution, you’re doing better than me. Of course, the 3rd Amendment (quartering of soldiers) is the most ignored of all, given modern times, but that’s another subject.
The most, but not entirely ignored! MoJo isn't my usual source for anything, but just for fun: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/07/brief-history-third-amendment-cases/
There are different shades of blue and red. Light blue is not bad, deep blue is another issue. Same goes for Red. The effort got final legislative approval on Wednesday in a 16-14 Senate vote, two GOP lawmakers joined with Democrats. A 2022 statute banning the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy then will become Arizona’s prevailing abortion law. Yet, the Arizona Supreme Court last month reinstated the ban that provides no exceptions for survivors of rape or incest. The anti-abortion group, defending the ban, maintains county prosecutors can begin enforcing it once the Supreme Court’s decision becomes final, which hasn’t yet occurred. D. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is making a push to delay the enforcement of the ban until sometime in late July. Republican lawmakers are considering putting one or more competing abortion proposals before voters in November.
Well...yeah. What about that? You could legitimately claim that the Roe decision was wrong for the exact reasons in the Dobbs majority opinion but you also could add that Roe was an unwise overreach. Roe ended the very democratic debate we are seeing take place now and did so before there was any national consensus to give the decision legitimacy. In the end, whatever a state's electorate decides will be the law in that state.
One could also claim that the whole point of the Bill of Rights, which includes the ninth amendment as well as the tenth, is to prevent government, at all levels from infringing on individual rights even when a majority of people in the country, state, or municipality want to do so.
Also true and that's why I ask folks to read the Dobbs decision before forming an opinion. Read it carefully!
