Gov. Jan Brewer’s Veto of controversial legislation is right on target

Share with:


 

 Commentary

 

By Juanita Bratcher

I applaud Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer for vetoing controversial legislation that in the long run could have done more harm and damage than good for the State of Arizona and this country.

Brewer on Monday (April 18, 2011) vetoed controversial legislation passed by the Republican controlled state legislature calling for presidential candidates to show proof of U.S. citizenship to get on the ballot in Arizona.

And even though Brewer could have easily given her stamp of approval to the legislation and sign the Bill into law, it fell flat on its face when she vetoed the measure, thereby, squashing the flames of racism and a devastating blow to Birthers and extremist Right Wingers who supported such legislation. Their flaming smoke signals are now left in smoldering ashes.

Birthers continue to question President Barack Obama’s U.S. citizenship, even though www.factcheck.com and others have posted Obama’s birth certificate on their websites. Obama even showed proof of live birth when running for the presidency. Yet, there are some, including Investment Tycoon Donald Trump who joined chorus with the Birthers questioning his citizenship.

Brewer had the power to sign the legislation into law yet she declined to do so. In vetoing the legislation Brewer stated: “As a former Secretary of State, I do not support designating one person as the gatekeeper to the ballot for a candidate, which could lead to arbitrary or politically-motivated decisions.”

Further Brewer stated: “I never imagined being presented with a bill that could require candidates for president of the greatest and most powerful nation on earth to submit their early baptismal or circumcision certificates among other records to the Arizona Secretary of State. This is a bridge too far.

“This measure creates significant new problems while failing to do anything constructive for Arizona,” she stated.

However, the story might not end there. There’s the possibility that the legislature might think in terms of overriding the governor’s veto.

In regards to SB1467, legislation that would have allowed guns on college campuses, Brewer in vetoing the measure said it was “poorly written.”

SB1467, passed by the Republican-controlled state legislature, would have allowed for individuals to carry a firearm concealed or not in the public rights of way on higher education campuses. Originally the piece of legislation would have allowed carrying of concealed weapons in buildings and classrooms.

Brewer said the Bill is “so poorly written. Bills impacting our Second Amendment rights have to be crystal clear so that gun owners don’t become lawbreakers by accident. Two examples of this lack of clarity in the bill are: (1) the failure to define the key phrase ‘public right-of-way’ where weapons can be carried, and (2) the inclusion of K-12 schools where federal and state laws generally prohibit weapons on K-12 school grounds…”

There have been several violent acts at colleges in America. How can Americans ever forget the “Kent Massacre” where violence erupted at Kent State University in Ohio on May 4, 1970 – four students were killed and nine wounded by National Guard troops called in to abate anti-war protests on the campus?

One of the most violent fatalities in the history of the country occurred on April 16, 2007 when Seung-hui Cho took the lives of 32 students and faculty at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va.

And on August 15, 1996, Frederick Martin Davidson, a graduate engineering student at San Diego State, pulled out a gun and killed three professors reportedly over his thesis.

Why put laws in place to exacerbate what is already a problematical situation? We don’t need a Wild, Wild West encounter in an atmosphere that has the possibility of breeding unwanted danger. And what about the underlying effects of drugs and alcohol?

Let’s be mindful and put a lid on “silliness” that could have negative and devastating effects on our society and the country as a whole.

Share with:


WP2Social Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com