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There’s a national crisis in law enforcement affecting just about every agency in Arizona: we don’t have enough new recruits to fill the shoes of the people who are retiring. Police are on the front lines of this shortfall, but corrections officers, firefighters, and EMTs are also in short supply. The reason is straightforward: people entering these dangerous professions have lost confidence in political leadership that expects them to put their lives on the line for the public, but refuses to stand behind them when it matters.
In November of 2024, voters in Arizona and elsewhere will have the opportunity to stand up, shoulder to shoulder with our first responders, and take a strong step towards ensuring Arizona’s first responders know that our citizens are behind them by voting to Back the Blue.
Assaults on police and corrections officers, EMTs, and firefighters should never be tolerated. But too many states and local cities are turning a blind eye to increasingly frequent and violent assaults on first responders.
Back the Blue changes that. If passed, Back the Blue ensures that people who injure any first responder in the line of duty are subject to severe and automatic penalties. Back the Blue means no more playing catch and release with violent felons who assault people trying to do their life-saving work.
Every day, the families of thousands of Arizona First Responder families watch their loved ones put on a uniform, walk out the door, and are left wondering if they’ll ever see their loved one again. These are dangerous jobs, and the risks will never entirely go away, but if the worst possible thing happens – if someone or something takes the life of their loved on while on-duty – family members need and deserve our immediate support. That’s why Back the Blue also includes a $250,000 additional death benefit – above and beyond whatever their current benefit is – payable within 30 days to the family of the fallen, and funded by a small fee tacked on to the fine for felony convictions.
When the worst happens, no first responder family should ever be left wondering if they and their kids are also going to end up on the street because of it.
Increase penalties for assaulting a first responder - including police officers, firefighters, and EMTs
Increase survivor benefits for families of first responders killed in the line of duty
Paid for by $20 fee for criminal convictions - no taxes for law abiding Arizonans!
READ THE PROPOSITION HERE