Arizona Gubernatorial Candidate Faces Scrutiny Over Past Legislative Votes
Arizona’s Republican gubernatorial nominee, Andy Biggs, is encountering significant criticism over a history of legislative decisions related to sex trafficking and child protection laws. These past actions have surfaced as a contentious issue in his electoral campaign against incumbent Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs.
Two decades ago, Biggs, then a member of the Arizona House, was one of a few legislators opposing an anti-sex trafficking bill aimed at safeguarding minors. SB 1338, the legislation in question, was designed to classify the sex trafficking of children under 15 as a “dangerous crime against children,” imposing a 20-year presumptive prison term for first-time offenders and a 30-year sentence for repeat offenders. Despite Biggs’s opposition, the bill was enacted into law under Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano.
Biggs did not provide a formal rationale for his vote against SB 1338. However, this was not an isolated incident. That same year, he opposed a bipartisan initiative necessitating that sex offenders relocating to Arizona re-register within the state. Two years later, Biggs was the sole committee member to vote against stricter penalties for child prostitution offenses.
His legislative history also includes a 2013 decision as Arizona Senate leader, where he halted a bipartisan effort to dismantle a local police force accused of shielding a radical religious sect implicated in the abuse of young girls.
The pattern extended into Biggs’s tenure in Congress, beginning in 2017. He notably opposed a 2018 bipartisan bill targeting online sex trafficking, a measure that garnered broad legislative support and was eventually signed into law by President Donald Trump.
In a more recent development, Biggs initially voted in committee to obstruct the release of Justice Department documents concerning the investigation of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Nevertheless, he later supported the disclosure of these files during a floor vote.
As the race for Arizona’s governorship intensifies, a July poll by the Tarrance Group reports a slight lead for Hobbs over Biggs, with a margin of four percentage points. The unfolding campaign continues to spotlight Biggs’s legislative record, drawing public and media attention.
For more information, visit the full article on American Journal News. The original post can be found here.
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