Edit topic

Updated your discussion topic below.

Subject
Enter a subject for your topic. Maximum 150 characters.
Post Body
Enter your post below.
The Arizona State House and Senate have both passed SB1059, which in the name of fighting terrorism would make "entering or remaining unlawfully in or on a critical public service facility" a class 6 felony. That bill defines a critical public service facility to include any "structure or fenced yard...used by rail, bus, air, or other mass transit provider". Please, without getting into a debate or flamewar over whether or not entering rail yards to photograph trains is acceptable for railfans, I hope we can all agree that making it a felony is a bad thing and does not bode well for railfanning in general. This bill is going to the desk of Governor Janet Napolitano to be signed. Please take some time to contact her via her contact page, especially if you live in Arizona: http://www.governor.state.az.us/post/feedback.htm Follow that up with a call to her office at (602) 542-4331, and urge her to veto SB 1059. Let's flood her desk and phone line with opposition to this bill. This is our last chance to stop SB 1059! Here is a sample letter which you can cut and paste to the contact page, or rewrite as you see fit: ----------------------------------------------- Dear Governor Napolitano: I would like to urge you to veto SB 1059, which has just passed the Arizona State House. As you know this is a bill which is supposed to protect public service facilities from terrorism. However, I take strong issue with increasing the penalties from a misdemeanor to a felony, and in particular would like to bring to your attention that this bill would make it a felony to trespass in rail yards. There are many people ("railfans") whose hobby is photographing trains, and while it is good practice to respect the property rights of railroads and not trespass when doing so, sometimes this could involve entering rail yards or railroad property, sometimes inadvertently. I take strong issue with the fact that this bill, if it becomes law, would make felons out of many people becuase of their hobby. Would you please veto SB 1059 when it comes to your desk, and send it back to the legislature to be rewritten. Ideally it should only make trespassing on critical public service facilities (such as rail yards) a class 6 felony if such trespassing is done with the intent to commit a criminal act or an act of terrorism. Thank you. -------------------------------------------------
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag
E-mail Subscribe
Check the box below if you want to receive e-mail notifications when replies are made to this thread.

Receive notifications