Some Dems regret votes for dead soldier names bill

Several House Democrats are now having second thoughts about supporting a measure making it a crime to use the names or images of dead soldiers on merchandise sold in Arizona.

“I shouldn’t have voted the way I did,” said House Minority Leader Phil Lopes. The Tucson Democrat blamed his vote in favor of Senate Bill 1014 on a “senior moment.”

Rep. Tom Prezelski, D-Tucson, said he thought the problems he originally had with the bill had been fixed. He said he didn’t read the final version.

And Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, conceded she wasn’t paying attention and was totally unaware of the contents of the bill on which she voted at least twice — once after a supporter of the measure gave a floor speech explaining the essence of the bill and why he believes it is necessary.

The measure passed unanimously.

Sinema said it’s possible that if someone had raised an alarm others might have been alerted to what she argues are constitutional problems with the bill.

The question of the law’s constitutionality will be decided in court: The American Civil Liberties Union has asked a federal judge to void the law, which took effect May 24 when it was signed by Gov. Janet Napolitano. No date has been set for a court hearing.

Supporters of the measure acknowledge it is aimed almost exclusively at Flagstaff business owner Dan Frazier.

A T-shirt Frazier has been selling caused the fuss. It was designed with the words “Bush Lied” on the front and “They Died” on the back, superimposed over the names of more than 3,000 U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq.

The law makes it a crime, punishable by up to six months in jail, for using a dead soldier’s name without permission of their next of kin.

Another provision allows relatives to sue civilly to stop production of the items and force the seller to relinquish any profits.

Lopes said he really didn’t think about the implications of the measure when he voted for the bill, once on April 17 and again on May 21.

“I think it’s a free speech issue,” he said. “I wish I hadn’t have voted that way.”

Lopes said he realized his error “about five seconds after he did it.”

Prezelski noted he cast the lone vote against the measure when it was considered by the House Committee on Counties, Municipalities and Military Affairs. But he said it appeared there were sufficient changes made by a House-Senate conference committee to make it at least passably constitutional.

It was only later, after reading the final language, he realized it was still unacceptable.

“These things slip past us all the time,” he said, calling his action “the one vote I regret from the session.”

Sinema, by contrast, said she never really focused on the legislation.

“If I had been paying better attention I would have voted ‘no,’” she said, adding that the measure got lost in other bills being voted on that day.

But this measure, unlike most of the others that were approved, did provoke a short floor speech from Rep. Jonathan Paton, R-Tucson.

“I wish we didn’t have to have a bill that would stop somebody from using a soldier’s image or their name,” Paton said during the April 17 vote. “But that’s the world we live in today.”