(Huff Post)–“Arizona Republicans are rallying behind a proposed law that critics say would amount to legalizing murder. House Bill 2843 would expand the “Castle Doctrine,” which gives people the right to use deadly force when threatened by home intruders, to include trespassers. State Rep. Justin Heap (R) filed the bill to give people living in the border state wider latitude to use force against unauthorized migrants who cut through private property on their way into the United States.
“It’s horrifying that Republicans want to allow people to legally shoot and kill migrants,” state Rep. Analise Ortiz (D) told HuffPost. “Especially when so many folks are seeking their legal right to seek asylum in the United States. It’s just wrong.”
The bill stems from a decadeslong trend in conservative state legislatures to expand the right of individuals to protect themselves with firearms. Such “stand your ground” laws typically remove the obligation for people to retreat to safety when they feel threatened, and extend immunity to prosecution for those who commit a homicide in cases where they believe they face an attack. But Heap’s proposal is more unique than that description suggests, according to Lindsay Nichols, policy director for the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Castle Doctrine laws, including Arizona’s, have not historically applied to areas outside a person’s home.
“It’s a particularly alarming instance of this trend,” Nichols said. “The prospect of a world in which you can be executed without due process for accidentally stepping onto someone’s property is terrifying.”
The Arizona House of Representatives passed the bill last week on partisan lines and it has favorable odds in the Senate. Republicans control both houses of the Arizona legislature with slim majorities. Still, opponents say the proposal harnesses hostility over the hot-button issue of immigration to legalize activity that today constitutes murder.”
No this is not a parody article, poking fun at the extremism that has infected the current state of the GOP. This is actual legislation passed by the Arizona House Republicans. So let’s break down the logic here. So instead of the misdemeanors you would normally be charged with for illegally crossing the border and trespassing on someone’s land. Would now be punishable by death if you’re just suspected of committing both those infractions. That’s right I said suspected.
As if killing innocent immigrants looking for a better life isn’t barbaric enough. God forbid you were an American citizen who happened to look like a possible migrant in the eyes of a gun-toting maniac. Then accidentally wandered onto their property. In Arizona, you could be legally murdered by said owner of the land. Not only that but it appears you are also within your legal rights to choose the method of execution. How could that possibly get out of hand? Seriously, imagine the amount of wrongful death and chaos this law would create if it ever came to pass the Governor’s desk.
Thankfully the people of Arizona chose a Democrat as their Governor. That is the sole reason why this won’t be legal, for now anyway. Because if demented Republican Kari Lake had been elected into office. I can picture Lake’s hands, trembling from excitement, in anticipation of signing a bill that deranged into law. Luckily for minorities, the hiking community, and lost delivery drivers. The people who undoubtedly are most at risk of legally being executed for no particular reason, if this became the new normal in Arizona. No amount of fabricated election fraud claims by Lake could overturn the will of Arizona’s electorate keeping her out of the Governor’s mansion. So for now, you can sleep peacefully knowing, this insanity, has no permanent home in Arizona.
In recent years Arizona has started to shift from a deep red Republican hotbed toward a purplish blue Democratic battleground state politically. I assume it’s largely due to this type of recklessness and the lack of competence in the current GOP members sponsoring such abhorrent policies. They can’t be trusted with even the smallest amount of political clout or power. When otherwise left unchecked they decide that legalizing murder is the one thing Arizonans need most off their policy wish list. If not for Democrats, Arizonans quite literally dodged a bullet.
However, I have a sneaking suspicion that Governor Abbott of Texas is manically waiting patiently until similar legislation crosses his desk. Arizona may have been the first state to try and pass a Republican license-to-murder law. But Texas almost certainly will be the first state to perfect such nightmare fuel. Mark it down!
Click the link below for the Huff Post article quoted in this column
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/arizona-republicans-legalize-murder_n_65e22084e4b0d2a247594783
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