By Dillon Rosenblatt and Arren Kimbel-Sannit | Arizona Capitol Times
Conservatives in the Arizona Legislature who held Gov. Doug Ducey’s feet to the fire over his COVID-19 stay-at-home order have had few qualms with the curfew he ordered in response to looting at a Scottsdale mall, despite his promises that he would not subject the state to a lockdown again.
Many Republicans, especially in the state House of Representatives, were harshly critical of the governor’s earlier response to the coronavirus, painting the lockdown as government overreach that hamstrung the state’s economy and limited the rights of Arizonans. This criticism persisted even as it became clear that most police departments were not taking advantage of the enforcement mechanism in the order, which classified violations as a Class 1 misdemeanor.
But whereas a month ago some legislative Republicans were hoping to pass a resolution overturning Ducey’s emergency declaration, they’ve been much more circumspect in their assessment of the curfew that Ducey ordered at the beginning of the week.