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Opinion: I sued and won when Arizona tried to ban boycotts on Israel. It's still a bad idea when applied to the firearms industry or (insert your issue here).

Mikkel Jordahl| opinion contributor

I received news with alarm last month thatHouse Bill2473 won passage in the Arizona House.It would ban state or local governments from granting contracts to companies unless they pledge that they wont boycott the firearms industry.

On March 29, the legislationpassedthe Senate Appropriations Committee, and is poised to pass the Senate.

The bill is based on a previous Arizona law that we challenged in court and was ruled unconstitutional.

In 2016, Arizona adopted legislation thatprohibitedthe state from contracting for services unless the contractor signed a certification that they wouldn't boycott Israel. The anti-boycott law (amended in 2019)was supportedby all Republicans and six Democrats in the ArizonaHouse.

My law practice hadbeen providing services to local Arizona government, such aslegally advising inmates in Coconino County.Not signing the certification would have endangered my livelihood.

I thoughtabout recent experiences visiting Israel and the West Bank. The structural discrimination of Palestinians that I witnessed amounted to apartheid, as has been recently confirmed byAmnesty International.

I believe in boycotting apartheid but I also believe in protecting Americans First Amendment rights.As an attorney, Ive sued Arizonafor my clientson multiple civil rights issues. So, instead of signing the pledge, I sued Arizona again this time as a plaintiff.

Boycotting is affirmed as a First Amendment rightby the U.S. Supreme Court.Its integral to our American story, from boycotting British teatotheMontgomery bus boycott.

The Supreme Court also long-prohibited awarding government contracts based on political speech.Consequently, states have been losing cases that challengedthese anti-boycott laws.

Inmy case, U.S. District Court JudgeDianeHumetewa banned enforcement of Arizonas law.Instead of addressing the laws unconstitutionality, however, Arizona legislators amended it to applyonly to companies with 10 or more employees and onlyto contracts of more than$100,000.

With this change, the Legislature succeeded in making my case moot.

Just Visions new documentary "Boycott" chronicles my story alongside others challenging their states anti-boycott laws. Participating in this documentary opened my eyes tothe funding pipeline from the Israeli government to evangelical and pro-Israel lobbying organizations.

It also revealed how the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council drafted this model bill for nationwide use; there are34states with laws penalizing individuals, companies or organizations' boycotts of Israel.

Its increasingly clear that Arizonas Israel anti-boycott law was a prelude to quell our rights on multiple issues.HB 2473 banning boycotts of gun makers uses almost precisely the same language as the law I challenged.

Theres legislation cropping up in Arizona and elsewhere, modeled after the Israel anti-boycott law, prohibitingbusinesses contracting with the state to require COVID-19 vaccinations.

This suppression extends beyond Arizona. Texas banned contracts with entities thatboycott firearmsand fossil fuels.There areat leasteight blatantly unconstitutional bills nationwide cutting the word Israel and pasting in other issues.

All of Arizonas House Republicansvoted forHB 2473. All Democrats voted against it.

I wonder, however, about those six Democrats who voted for the Israel anti-boycott law. Do they realize the extent to which supporting that law damaged our freedom of speech? Perhaps they thought our special relationship to Israel justified abrogating theFirstAmendment.

But there can be no sacred cows when it comes to constitutional rights. Those Democrats opened a Pandoras box of political patronage that may be imposed by whichever party wields power.

Republicans would be wise to remember that party power shifts; the same model legislation used to penalize boycotts of Israel and firearms today, could be used to punish contractors who boycott Planned Parenthood tomorrow.

This dangerous trend has no end.

If government contractors are required to sign away their free speech today, will government employees be required to sign it away tomorrow? Will Americans need to pass political litmus tests before receiving government assistance, or attending state universities? It smacks of despotism more than democracy.

Before the Senate votes onHB 2473, I hope my fellow Arizonans will join me in sending this message: Government has no business using their purse strings to silence us.The more they try, the louder well speak out.

MikJordahlis a practicing attorney in Arizona and a protagonist of the Just Vision film "Boycott." He was represented by the ACLU. Reach him atmikkeljordahl@yahoo.com.

See the original post:
Why a bill to stop firearms industry boycotts could backfire for Republicans - The Arizona Republic