title:  Arizona GOP Speaker Invokes 911 To Ban Press From House Floor In Retaliation For Negative Story
text: Arizona Speaker of the House David Gowan (R) enacted a new policy to punish members of the press for the fact one of them published a story that exposed him for repeatedly violating state law.The new rule states that any member of the press who wants to cover the legislature from the House floor has to undergo draconian background checks, including examinations of their criminal, civil, and even their driving records. It s absolutely insane that driving records, or other unimportant misdemeanors, can automatically disqualify a member of the press from being on the house floor for up to 10 years.Press members, so far, have refused to consent to these background checks. As a result, they have to now cover the proceedings from the balcony.My view from the house today. floor privileges revoked after reporters declined to sign background check form. pic.twitter.com/4g0lOCdWm0  Alia Beard Rau (@aliarau) April 7, 2016As usual, Republicans want you to think that their use of the government to attack its own citizens is a good thing. Gowan has tried to say that it s  all about safety  when justifying his childish actions   despite that there have been zero incidents in 34 at the Arizona State House that would suggest a policy like this is necessary.Gowan actually invoked 9/11 to justify this garbage: There had never been an attack on 9/11 either, like that occurred either, before on our shore, but it did. Source: Arizona Daily StarRight. We can t be too careful these days because they surprised us on 9/11. I m not sure you can make a more offensive comparison.Here is what caused all this ruckus. Hank Stephenson of the Arizona Capitol Times ran a piece about Gowan s use of a state vehicle during approximately a 20-day period, where he traveled 4,800 miles. Some of the locations he traveled to were related to Gowan s campaign for his election to Congress. After the story ran, Gowan was forced to reimburse the state $12,000 dollars and now he s currently under investigation for further misuse of public resources by the Arizona Attorney General.It s been suggested that this entire charade was done just to get back at Stephenson personally, who was convicted of trespassing after a bar fight a few years ago. The rule immediately screwed over this reporter in a very personal and retaliatory way, along with every other person who might have some issue with which the new rule is at odds.The constitutionality of the new rule is to be determined. A statement by ACLU of Arizona said that the new rule might not be unlawful because it doesn t fully ban the press from the House. It only prevents them from being on the floor. It s a skirting of the constitution that might allow Gowan to get his way, unfortunately.Featured image via Flickr