(photo courtesy of www.dailycall.org)

The controversy in my state (Arizona) is quickly turning into a game of Telephone. Having watched the news, listened to comments and read here online, it’s becoming more than abundantly clear that there is a huge amount of misunderstanding as to what my state has wanted to accomplish with the SB1070 Immigration Law that is now in effect as of Thursday, July 29th.

Judge Susan Bolton put a “preliminary injunction” on what she and the media have termed the “key element” to this law and many feel that the heart of the law has been taken out. Personally, I don’t. There was a fine, very thin line that allowed for the potential to racially profile when asking someone what their legal status was once they were either pulled over for a traffic violation or were detained for some other possible crime. The thing is, there is not a selective group of people being pulled over based on the color of their skin. ALL residents or not, who have committed a crime, will be asked for identification. And it’s HERE that so much controversy and confusion has been made.

Our state has become a hot spot for not only controversy, but also tremendous rumor and misconceptions. We are not a bigoted, racist state and no, we’re not out to “lynch mob” illegal immigrants to the south of our border.

It’s far more complicated than that and if those who wish to do nothing more than join the bashing bandwagon against Arizona were to stop for a moment, pull their heads out and use their intelligence, they might understand a few things.

First off, the overwhelming amount of protesters going after Sheriff Joe Arpaio either protesting in person or writing about the man. Sheriff Joe is not the main sheriff of our state. We have quite a few counties here in Arizona and Arpaio is only the sheriff of one..Maricopa. Do your homework, folks, before looking like fools. He has been making his now infamous immigration “sweeps” for a few years and regardless if the bill was completely overturned (which it wasn’t…try to remember this) or not, he would have still done this. Why? Because his actions, while controversial, mirror federal guidelines. Love the man or hate him, he’s doing what his job asks him to. Sheriff Joe is a publicity whore who loves the attention but the man has done some very good things as the sheriff of the county I reside in. His “Tent City” is designed to keep small, petty criminals from coming back. This “city” is for the first-timer. The person who’s committed a crime such as DUI or even writing a bad check, as examples. What would people like? A tennis court and sauna for these folks? The man also stands very strongly against deadbeat parents who don’t pay their child support as well as those who abuse animals.

And he’s continued to be voted to keep his job time and again. But I’m sure some would defer back to the notion that those who voted for him to retain his position are indicative of the “racist, lynch mobbers” who live in Arizona. *sigh

There are many who feel that the protesters who’ve been arrested are shining proof that our state is after Mexicans as apparently it’s felt that this was the only reason for the arrests…the color of the skin of those protesting. Let’s clear this up…those who peacefully protested were not arrested. Those who blocked driveways and streets along with hanging from poles with signs were arrested. Why? Because Arizona’s LE was within the rights of the law TO arrest them.

Any other state would have done the same.

We have celebrities slamming Arizona and boycotting our venues. And? I guess in the long run, when the dust settles, these same celebrities might want to return to Arizona but find that ticket sales aren’t what they once were. They’re obviously within their rights to boycott, but is it really a smart business move for them? Time will tell.

And the silliness about Arizona attempting to secede as a state since we’re trying to supposedly supercede federal law. Wrong. Arizona has simply been initiating an attempt to mirror federal laws that have all but been ignored on the federal level. Would this same group of political activists who’ve voiced their opinions so severely against Arizona be so willing to blindly follow their own state’s government if an issue came up that needed federal attention but was consistently ignored? Would you want your state to sit back and do nothing? No matter the issue?

Finally, has it occurred to anyone who has called Arizona a pack of racists that you are profiling, as well? Think about it. Nibble on it for a while, ladies and gents.

A state is within its right to challenge the federal government and while I am happy that a portion of SB1070 has been restrained, I am proud of my state and its government for doing just that…challenging our nation’s federal government to see if it can’t step up to the plate and deal with a very real and serious issue in our border state.

Til the next time….
Ciao!