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■ VOLUME 56 • ISSUE 31
Arizona Receives F
Giffords Center Releases Annual Disenfranchising Voters Gun Law Scores
washington, d.c. – GIFFORDS Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence released the latest edition of its Annual Gun Law Scorecard, which grades and ranks each state on the strength of its gun laws. The comprehensive, 50-state analysis reflects that states with stronger gun laws have lower gun death rates and save more lives. This year, Arizona received an F because it failed to pass any significant gun legislation. “As we close out 2023, I’m reflecting on the tremendous gains in the fight for gun safety we’ve witnessed this year as well as the incomprehensible losses. Communities like Monterey Park, Nashville, Louisville, and Lewiston have been torn apart by mass shootings. Every single day we see violence in our neighborhoods taking too many lives too soon. I’m proud of the progress we’ve made, but it is clear the fight is far from over,” said Peter Ambler, executive director of GIFFORDS Law Center. continued on page 2
THIS WEEK IN BLACK HISTORY: JAN 2 1809 “...mere socialities is not the object of our formation, but to improve the mind...” – William Hamilton, president/
co-founder – with Rev. Peter Williams (pictured), among others – of New York Society for Mutual Relief, celebrates the first anniversary of the passage of the Slave Importation Ban passed by Congress.
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By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA he Republican Party’s assault on suspected and unverified widespread voter fraud has come into view for what it is: an attempt to disenfranchise Black and Hispanic voters. According to a study by The Washington Post, Republican-led voter fraud crackdowns disproportionately target Democrats and minorities. The newspaper’s analysis found that Black and Hispanic people made up more than 75 percent of defendants accused of voter fraud, while registered Democrats
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accounted for nearly 60 percent of those charged. The analysis also revealed that the election integrity units established or expanded in six states after the 2020 election only obtained 47 convictions, most of which were for minor instances of voter fraud by individual voters. The analysis undermines claims by the twice-impeached and four-times indicted former President Donald Trump and Republicans that widespread voter fraud influenced the outcome of the 2020 election. Among the key findings, reg-
istered Democrats comprised 58 percent of those charged with identifiable party affiliations, compared to 23 percent for registered Republicans. The remaining cases involved defendants not registered with a specific party. The researchers determined a defendant’s race, ethnicity, or political party in approximately 70 percent of cases. Contrary to assertions by Trump and some Republican allies, the analysis revealed that the election integrity units did not uncover widespread schemes that could continued on page 3
Chandler City Council Approves Resource Officers At Schools The Chandler City Council has approved agreements with the Chandler Unified, Kyrene and Mesa school districts to provide school resource officers at all public high schools and middle schools in Chandler through June 2026. The agreements, approved during the City Council’s Dec. 7th meeting, fund a combined total of 12 school resource officer positions to serve at assigned districts. Grants from the Arizona Department of Education School Safety Program cover nearly all the personnel costs for the positions. Any remaining personnel costs are split equally between the city and school districts. Nine officers will be dedicated to Chandler Unified School District and assigned to Arizona College Prep, Basha, Chandler and Hamilton high schools, Arizona College Prep middle school and Andersen, Bogle, Santan and Willis junior high schools. Two officers will be dedicated to Kyrene School District and assigned to Aprende and Pueblo middle
schools. One officer will be dedicated to Mesa Public Schools and assigned to Summit Academy. School resource officers are sworn members of the Chandler Police Department who perform police duties and provide a law enforcement officer presence on school campuses. Officers also assist administrators, teachers and students with school safety, security and law enforcement education.