Arizona’s 2nd Amendment Freedom Act is a false promise

Republican members of the Arizona Legislature apparently were absent that day in middle school when they taught ... America.

Otherwise, they would not have introduced Senate Bill 1328, along with a companion House Bill 2111, each of which is titled the “Second Amendment Firearm Freedom Act.”

They’ve tried this before.

The proposed law declares that any other act that violates the U.S. or Arizona Constitution’s right to bear arms is unenforceable.

Here’s the thing.

Any law that does such a thing would already be unenforceable.

If a law passed by a legislative body violates the Second Amendment to the Constitution, or the First Amendment, or any of the other amendments, then that law is unconstitutional.

This is not an esoteric concept.

The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. But the decisions about what is constitutional are not determined by state legislatures like ours. Those questions are run up through the justice system and decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

SB 1328 is sponsored by state Sen. David Gowan and HB 2111 is sponsored by state Rep. Leo Biasiucci, but each has a bunch of Republican co-sponsors.

I’m not sure these good people actually believe that state legislatures can offer their own interpretation of federal laws and choose to nullify those they don’t like or if this is just a bit of political theater meant to please firearms enthusiasts, who have been pushing so-called Second Amendment “sanctuary” legislation across the country.

I suppose it is a way to let that particular constituency know they’re looking out for them, a way to keep the votes and the campaign contributions coming in.

It’s also a way to muddy the legislative waters for more thoughtful elected officials who might propose laws involving firearms that actually make sense, laws that do not violate the Constitution but might serve to make citizens more safe and secure.

The last time Republicans sponsored this same legislation one of them said, “It is time we send a message that we as a state won’t put the safety of our families and communities in jeopardy by allowing unconstitutional overreaches.”

Actually, that’s not the message these bills send. They send the message that our lawmakers don’t understand the Constitution.

Simply put, if a law is unconstitutional, then it’s unconstitutional. It’s already illegal.

If a law gets passed that is believed to be unconstitutional it can be challenged in court, meaning the bills being proposed by Republicans in the Arizona Legislature are not necessary.

What’s necessary is a statutory mandate that Arizona lawmakers take a class in civics.