Remember the Arizona jackass who sponsored a bill in 2011 allowing the state to collect donations for a border fence? Rep. Steve Smith, who, after Sen. Russell Pearce was recalled, became a top candidate for #1 Yahoo at the legislature, said his cockamamy border scheme would raise $50 million so he could build 200 miles of fence, using inmate labor to keep costs down.
"It's not my end goal," he said. "If we can raise $50 million, we're off to a fabulous start." Arizona Republic
A fabulous start indeed. So, how'd that work out?
Smith evidently thought the country is full of rich racist goobers, just waiting to open their wallets in order to keep brown people out. But he sorta over-promised and under-delivered. Just a smidgeon. I checked their website, designed, it seems, by a 4th grader (sorry, 4th graders), and to date they've raked in a cool $193,602. If you're counting, he's .39% of the way there! Smith said by now he'd have enough cash on hand to build several hundred miles of fence, but with 193 large ones he could maybe put up about 400 feet.
So I guess Rep. Smith needs another goofball project. Sheriff Arpaio has the birther racket all to himself, so Smith needs another dog whistle. He found it:
Fearing new federal laws and regulations, a state legislator wants to provide legal cover for Arizonans who do not want to obey them—and penalties for federal officials who try to enforce them.
The proposal by Rep. Steve Smith, R-Maricopa makes it illegal for any public servant to enforce "any act, law, statute, rule or regulation'' of the federal government relating to personal firearms or accessories as long as they remain within the boundaries of Arizona. East Valley Tribune
Maybe Mr. Smith reads a different history book, but mine says the Civil War ended this federal-state question. That doesn't matter, it seems, to a lot of these Sagebrush Rebellion peckerheads, who keep introducing legislation that allows Arizona to trump federal law. They tried it with
land-use issues, for instance, so the state can turn over its natural resources to mining and lumber companies, rather than allow the feds to protect the land in their tyrannical national parks and forests.
How'd that work out? I thought so.
Never mind, here we go again. Arizona has an umbilical connection to the Second Amendment, so much so we even have an Official State Weapon. In case you're wondering, it's the Colt Revolver, which, the bill creating its designation says, was "historically important to the founding of the state and to the survival of the state." (Would you be surprised if I told you the bill was written by the Colt Manufacturing Co. lobbyist? I thought not.) Some people considered it kinda tacky to honor a weapon that killed thousands of Arizona's original inhabitants. Others were a little queazy that the Official Weapon vote came just a few months after Gabby Giffords and 18 others were gunned down in Tucson.
But this is Arizona, after all, land of the Shootout at the OK Corral, and Rep. Smith isn't about to allow a bunch of federal badges to usurp our proud heritage (even though the first thing Sheriff Wyatt Earp did when you stepped foot in Tombstone was take your gun). So Smith's bill contains a provision that makes it a felony for feds to enforce new restrictions to the Second Amendment, punishable by up to a year in jail. He concedes that he's walking on shaky constitutional ground but, hey, the clown's fence scheme went bust and he's lost the tea party limelight.
Smith said he is sending a message to the president and Congress.
Oh, he's sending a message all right:
"In case my border fence blunder didn't convince you, I get headlines for myself with stupid bills that make Arizona look foolish and accomplish nothing. Freedom also."