Campaign For Liberty never misses opportunity to raise cash
While many who sponsored HB2366 bill are opposed to photo-enforcement in general and have sponsored legislation demonstrating that position, they felt that as photo-enforcement continues it had to be reformed. The reaction to reforms efforts was so vitriolic this week, that the bill has been pulled by its sponsor Rep. Bob Thorpe.
“I introduced HB2366 with the goal of reforming photo enforcement in a manner done by many states across the country. Under the bill all automated safety device tickets would be treated similar to a parking ticket, a civil violation–and because the ticket is tied to the vehicle registration and not the individual, the insurance companies would not be able to add points and raise an individual’s insurance rates,” said Thorpe in a statement released on Thursday.
“The bill also addressed privacy concerns as well as a critical child safety issue prompted by research showing that three times as many kids die from accidents getting on or off the bus than from riding as a passenger. Unfortunately, the bill has been misinterpreted—or misrepresented—in the public sphere, creating a belief that this is a massive expansion of photo radar in Arizona,” said Thorpe after the Ron Paul organization decided to turn the issue into a fundraising opportunity. “While this is not a fair characterization, after discussions with my colleagues and co-sponsors of the bill, I have decided to shelve the bill.”
“I am grateful to all the legislators involved with this bill, who came along side me in the process as we tried to work through these very real issues,” concluded Thorpe.
At issue, according to one lawmaker was 12 dead kids with hundreds of known near misses of kids as they exit school busses. Currently drivers are said to be flying past busses despite the fact that they display flashing lights and a stop sign as children are exiting.
In their fundraising letter, the Campaign for Liberty team states that “certain legislators who pledged to oppose photo ticketing have signed on to this bill, including one who agreed to introduce legislation to ban the practice entirely in Arizona.” The letter fails to mention that those same legislators are preparing bills to eliminate red light-type cameras completely. In case that legislation does not garner enough support, Thorpe’s bill would at least limit their use.
The team concludes:
They [referring to the legislators] must be held to account and would be wise to pull their support for this bill before the voters pull their support for them.
In Liberty,
Your Arizona Campaign for Liberty Team
P.S. Arizona Campaign for Liberty has been working on a shoestring budget to bring you this information. Please consider a donation that would make our efforts that much more effective.
Even if it’s just $5, $10 or $15, we will use it to spread the message about why H.B. 2366 is a betrayal of the Constitution and the Arizona motorist!
According to the Center for Innovation in Pediatric Practice, 24 percent of all school bus-related injuries are from kids getting on and off the bus. These injuries occur in the “danger zone” about 10 feet from each side of the school bus. In these hazardous areas, children are at risk of being injured. Also, three times as many kids die from accidents getting on or off the bus then from riding it.
Between kids’ safety and the reforms that the public is demanding for camera use, HB2366 seemed like a reasonable response. However, once Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty inundated the legislators with vitriolic emails, and launched attacks on Facebook, it became apparent that the matter did not have a reasonable chance to be the subject of reasonable discussions.
One Capitol insider quipped, “The Paulistas are only worried about getting a ticket while racing to the dispensary when they run out of medical marijuana.”