Homeless in Arizona

Our elected officials don't like it when we used voter initiatives to pass laws that they don't like.

I'm sure they don't want us to legalize marijuana.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/ej-montini/2017/02/21/montini-lawmakers-now-would-like-you-slit-your-own-throats/98186046/

Montini: Lawmakers now would like you to slit your own throats.

EJ Montini , The Republic | azcentral.com 7:33 a.m. MT Feb. 21, 2017

Last week, the Republicans who control the Arizona Legislature stabbed you in the back.

This week, they’d like you to cut your own throat.

It’s not a legislative session; it’s an Agatha Christie novel.

In a party-line vote last week the House Government Committee passed a bill (House Bill 2404) that would essentially kill Arizona’s initiative process. They hate it when citizens exercise their right to take an issue directly to a statewide vote so they’re trying to make it too difficult for any group to reasonably collect enough signatures to make such a vote happen.

This week, lawmakers are considering ways to convince you to commit political suicide by passing pass changes in the state Constitution that would turn voters against voters while turning all the power over to lawmakers.

Republican Rep. Don Shooter is suggesting a change that would force supporters of an initiative to collect signatures from 10 percent of voters in each of the state’s 30 legislative districts before that initiative qualifies for the ballot and 15 percent to qualify a Constitutional amendment.

Such a law would allow voters in a single district to block something wanted by everyone else in the state, making it practically impossible to ever get something on the ballot.

And legislators aren't done. They're also hoping you’ll kill yourself – metaphorically speaking – with a couple of other proposals.

One would ask you to repeal the Voter Protection Act, which prevents lawmakers from meddling with laws you passed by statewide vote. And another would allow them to change laws you approved at the suggestion of lawmakers.

In other words, the Republicans who run the Legislature would like you to get out of the political process after you elect them. They want you to leave all the lawmaking and all the governing to them. They want you to vote them into office and then ... die. Either by their hand or your own.

Metaphorically speaking, of course.