(The Center Square) – Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs recognized Domestic Violence Awareness Month in a ceremony at the Executive Tower on Tuesday, but some Republicans have been critical of how she’s tackled the issue.
Hobbs signed an Executive Order to keep the Governor’s Commission to Prevent Intimate Partner and Gender-Based Violence running, as well as a proclamation noting the month’s special meaning alongside stakeholders, including the Governor’s Office Youth, Faith and Family Cabinet Executive Officer and Tribal Liaison Tonya Hamilton.
“As governor, I will continue to look for ways to protect and support victims of domestic violence and their families, just as I have done throughout my career,” Hobbs said.
Hobbs said she’d like to see more done in the next legislative session on the issue, and state Rep. Matt Gress, R-Phoenix, is hoping she’ll reconsider a bill that would still harsher penalties on those who assaulted pregnant women.
House Bill 2427 was vetoed by the governor in April, and it would have allowed sentencing to increase up to five years on top of the maximum sentence if the defendant knew the victim was pregnant. Currently, it’s two years.
Gress said he’ll reintroduce the bill again in the next session, and he said it will “give the opportunity to let the governor do the right thing.”
However, Hobbs was worried that the bill would impact abortion access and posted that she “proudly vetoed” the legislation.
“In keeping with my promise to defend reproductive rights, I proudly vetoed HB2427 and SB1600. Under my watch, reproductive rights will not be restricted,” she posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, in April.
As for Gress, he said it’s part of a larger ideological issue.
“It all stems from, in my view, the left not wanting to increase the penalties on anybody,” Gress said.
