butterbean
Joined: 21 Jun 2006 Posts: 2271
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Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 8:56 am Post subject: Measure sought ban on armed civilians patrolling border |
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Armed people or groups who patrol to protect against illegal activity are not domestic terrorists, lawmakers decided Monday in rejecting a bill that flamed fears and passions at the Statehouse and beyond.
The hearing on House Bill 2286 was more about message than substance, as its defeat was all but sealed even before the first comments were made.
Despite its near-certain fate, lawmakers spent nearly four hours discussing border security in a debate that veered from racism to hatemongers to free-speech and gun rights. advertisement
On a 7-3 vote, members of the Homeland Security and Property Rights Committee rejected the bill that had been introduced by Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix.
She said it was aimed at cracking down on armed vigilante groups who, she said, are taking the law into their own hands when it comes to protecting the Arizona-Mexico border.
But it quickly became as much about Sinema as the content of the bill.
continued:
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0206domestic-terrorism0206.html |
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