CAITLIN SIEVERS
Arizona Mirror
The City of Phoenix’s donation of more than 500 firearms to the National Police of Ukraine last month was illegal, according to Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes.
The city already transferred 500-600 unclaimed firearms to Gruelle, a private company based in Philadelphia, which was set to deliver those firearms — worth around $200,000 — to the Ukrainian National Police in Kyiv.
Related:Sen. Mark Kelly was back in Ukraine. Here’s what he saw and did
The Phoenix City Council in late June approved the ordinance allowing the firearms donation, and it executed its contract with Gruelle on Aug. 4.
That was after Rep. Quang Nguyen, of Prescott Valley, and Rep. Selina Bliss, of Prescott — both Republicans — wrote a letter to the Phoenix City Council July 3, asking it to rescind its ordinance because it violated state law. When Phoenix refused to do so, Nguyen and Bliss filed a complaint with Mayes, a Democrat, which required her office to investigate whether the ordinance violated the state law governing the disposal of unclaimed firearms
They challenged Phoenix’s ordinance using what’s known as an SB1487 complaint, named after a 2016 law that permits any legislator to ask the attorney general to review an action by any municipality or county if they believe that action violates state law.
Mayes on Wednesday concluded that the ordinance violates state law, so Phoenix must either forfeit all the income tax money that the state shares with cities and towns — around $680 million — or repeal or amend the ordinance to come into compliance with state law.
