Arizona is no stranger to controversy. Residents of the red state know Arizona is a pioneer for states’ rights, sticking it to the federal government where it hurts most.
Even Gov. Brewer doesn’t hesitate to publicly decry the powers of the federal government when it comes to issues of immigration and land management policies, as she said in January’s State of the State address. In a frustrating show of inconsistency, however, the state tends to defer to federal law only when it is convenient.
When it comes to another social issue — marijuana — Arizona resorts to federal policy. According to AZ Central, Attorney General Tom Horne and Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery have proposed overturning Arizona’s medical marijuana law because it violates federal law.
Horne and Montgomery’s views on the marijuana law signal a stray from Arizona’s track record. Both Republicans, they evoked federal policy on drugs to achieve a highpoint in the Republican platform: a no-tolerance policy on drugs, medicinal or otherwise. This inconsistency highlights an important characteristic of Arizona politics. The Grand Canyon State’s primary issue isn’t retrieving lost rights from the federal government. It’s about party rights, and doing whatever sounds legal, to achieve a party goal.
The Arizona legislature has asserted its autonomy with controversial issues of abortion and gay marriage. It has even challenged the National Park Service.
Unable to overturn Roe v. Wade without facing serious federal hurdles, Arizona found some loopholes, attempting to ban abortions after a pregnancy has reached 20 weeks’ gestation. By evoking states’ rights, U.S. District Judge James Teilborg deemed the law constitutional because it doesn’t violate Roe v. Wade. After all, the law doesn’t prevent women from ending their pregnancies. States have the right to regulate how abortions are performed, without completely banning them.
And then there’s gay marriage. Arizona assumed state authority again in 2008. Although denying same-sex couples the right to marry was unconstitutional at the time in neighboring California courts and Connecticut, Arizona successfully passed Proposition 102 in 2008. Working under state innovation, same-sex marriage is not recognized in the state of Arizona.
The governor doesn’t hesitate to blatantly demonstrate her distaste for the federal government, as demonstrated when she wagged her finger at the president during his visit to Arizona in January.
The issue with Horne and Montgomery’s request doesn’t have anything to do with the ethical or legal issues surrounding marijuana usage, but rather the tactic used to achieve a party goal.
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