Arizona gov. vetoes presidential 'birther' bill

[BlindBoo]

PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer on Monday vetoed a bill that would have required President Barack Obama and other presidential candidates to prove their U.S. citizenship before their names could appear on the state's ballot.

The bill would have made Arizona the first state to pass such a requirement. Opponents had warned the bill would give another black eye to Arizona after last year's controversy over the state's illegal immigration enforcement law.

Brewer said in her veto letter that she was troubled that the bill empowered Arizona's secretary of state to judge the qualifications of all candidates when they file to run for office.

Arizona gov. vetoes presidential 'birther' bill - Politics - msnbc.com

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Excuses, excuses, excuses - people got a right to know if their President is a home-grown US citizen...

Why Arizona governor vetoed gun law and 'birther bill,' irking the right
April 19, 2011 - Jan Brewer, Arizona governor, surprised conservatives by vetoing a bill to allow guns onto college campuses and a 'birther bill' to require certain proofs of US citizenship for presidential candidates.

Jan Brewer, liberal hero? Granted, the moniker doesn't exactly fit. After all, this is the Arizona governor who has championed conservative causes from immigration crackdowns to gun rights. But on Monday, she vetoed two pet pieces of legislation of the right: a bill that would have allowed firearms onto parts of college campuses and another referred to as the "birther bill," which would have mandated certain "proofs" of US citizenship for candidates running for president.

Both bills were controversial, and Governor Brewer's vetoes were a setback for the conservatives who control the Arizona legislature. In explaining her decisions, Brewer called the "birther bill" "a bridge too far" and said she vetoed the campus gun law because it was poorly written. In its original form, the gun bill would have allowed concealed weapons into campus buildings and classrooms. But after it caused a furor, the measure was scaled back to allow weapons – open or concealed – in public "rights of way" on campuses. In her veto letter, Brewer said the parameters of what was allowed weren't sufficiently defined.

"Bills impacting our Second Amendment rights have to be crystal clear so that gun owners don't become lawbreakers by accident," she wrote. She also questioned whether the phrase "educational institution" in the bill could be applied to elementary and high schools. State Sen. Ron Gould, the bill's sponsor, told the Arizona Republic that it was a "very rude veto letter." Forty votes would be needed in the House to override a veto, but supporters look to be short of that mark. The bill passed in the House 33 to 24.

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[gekaap]

It's not about the people's right to know. The people already know. It's just the idiots who can't get it through their skulls. Oh, and the lack of constitutional power to execute such a law.

 

[waltky]

Looks like she didn't win any brownie points...

Jan Brewer says W.H. snubbed her; failed to invite her to immigration talks
4/20/11 - Fresh off her veto of her state’s “birther” bill, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer says that the White House gave her a “snub” by leaving her off the guest list for a meeting about immigration reform.

“I wish I would have been invited,” the Republican said Tuesday night on Fox News. “You would have thought one of the governors would have been invited, since we are on the front lines fighting for security there. It was a little bit of a snub, if you will.” More broadly, she said, the meeting illustrated a disconnect between President Barack Obama’s immigration policy goals and the reality on the ground in border states. Obama sat down Tuesday with a group that included New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the Rev. Al Sharpton, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.). The guest list didn’t include any current governors or members of Congress, though it did include some business leaders, including the COO of Facebook and former Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), who now works for JPMorgan Chase.

The list of attendees leaned toward those who would support the Obama administration’s approach to immigration. The meeting itself has been framed as an effort to show Obama supporters that he is trying to make progress on the issue even if it’s doomed to stall in Congress.

Brewer, meanwhile, has been a foe of the administration’s immigration policy. The Justice Department filed suit against Arizona to stop the state’s controversial illegal immigration law Brewer championed — which requires all immigrants to carry documentation and allows police to arrest suspected illegal immigrants without a warrant, among other provisions — from being enforced. Brewer filed a countersuit earlier this year in response, saying the federal government has failed to protect her state from an “invasion” by illegal immigrants. Last week, a court refused to lift a stay on the law, and the Justice Department responded by asking a judge to dismiss the countersuit, The Associated Press reported early Wednesday.

Brewer characterized the White House meeting as a gathering of people who might support Obama’s vision of “comprehensive immigration reform,” including a pathway to citizenship and the passage of the DREAM Act, while her focus is on border security. “It has nothing to do with what we really need to have done, and that is to get our borders secured.” “Our citizens need to feel secure in their homes. It just continues to grow with the issue of people coming across our borders illegally, the drug cartels,” she said. Obama sat down Tuesday with a group that included New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the Rev. Al Sharpton, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.). The guest list didn’t include any current governors or members of Congress, though it did include some business leaders, including the COO of Facebook and former Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), who now works for JPMorgan Chase.

Read more: Jan Brewer: White House snubbed me on immigration talks - Jennifer Epstein - POLITICO.com

 

[kyzr]

Any bets her veto doesn't get overridden???