Javier Ramos’ Statement on Court Ruling to Uphold Total Abortion Ban

September 23, 2022

QUEEN CREEK – Today, Democratic candidate for Congress for Arizona’s Fifth Congressional District Javier Ramos released the following statement in response to the Pima County Superior Court decision to uphold a draconian pre-statehood total ban on abortion:

“Today marks a heartbreaking turn for the worse for Arizona. Almost all abortions in Arizona are now banned. It is the result of decades of work by politicians to ban abortion or ‘leave it to the states’, ultimately to erode our civil liberties, our freedoms, and our privacy rights. There are no exceptions for rape or incest. Providers will get prison time. This decision will cause Arizonans to die. Your neighbors, members of your community, and someone you love will need an abortion at some point in their life.

This is not the Arizona we want. This decision sets women’s rights back to a time when they were not allowed to vote. We will send a clear and strong message in November. Freedom will prevail.

The decision to take away women’s rights is horrifying and un-American. It is time to STAND UP! This is OUR Arizona! We will not tolerate women’s rights being left to the states as state legislatures rob us of our freedom. In November our voices WILL be heard. We ask that you register to vote by October 11th, volunteer on pro Roe campaigns, vote for pro Roe candidates, and then RUN FOR OFFICE.

As the next Representative of Arizona’s 5th Congressional District, I will vote for and propose legislation to make Roe V Wade the law of the land.”

There are a penumbra of rights, protected by the Constitution, which guarantee privacy of all Americans. Marriage, contraception, abortion, religion and other private, personal decisions should never be subject to government overreach. They should only be dictated by individuals.

Neither the federal government, nor any state or local government has any right interfere with a woman’s access to abortion or any other medical procedure.

I WILL VOTE TO CODIFY ROE V. WADE AND/OR DRAFT LEGISLATION TO PROTECT ABORTION RIGHTS

No government should ever dictate who you are allowed to marry. I am Latino and my wife is Navajo. I don’t want anyone to have to live an a state or a country where our interracial marriage would be banned. Likewise, I will always vote to defend, or draft legislation to protect the right to same sex marriages.

THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY CONTINUES TO BE DENIED FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND WE NEED TO BE PROGRESSING FORWARD NOT MOVING BACKWARD ON THESE ISSUES.

What I think many lawmakers lose sight of is the fact that all policy is economic policy. Every piece of legislation will ripple through the complicated ecosystem of government, affecting any number of related and unrelated areas of policy. These chain reactions drive positive and negative affects on the economy.

My current focus as a lawyer is overseeing infrastructure projects that are designed to benefit all Arizona people and businesses, and in some cases, the nation as a whole. What’s unique about these projects is that they are are built on tribal lands. As counsel representing one of these tribes, it is my responsibility to protect their economic prosperity, ensure that the project is best serving all of its intended goals, all while defending the tribe’s natural resources and the environment.

EVERYTHING AFFECTS EVERYTHING.

Throughout my career I have taken on these types of issues where there is a challenging path to achieving a delicate balance. I have gained a reputation as someone who has a knack for creatively and forcefully breaking through stalemates in negotiations. The problem is that people become fixated on one thing, but you have widen your scope to create solutions to the whole issue.

I’M PROUD TO ADMIT THAT MY WORK HAS BROUGHT ME TO WASHINGTON D.C. AND THE UNITED NATIONS. I AM PROUD OF MY REPEATED SUCCESS ON THESE STAGES, WINNING NEGOTIATIONS WITH POLITICIANS.

I’ll never understand why someone would want to vote for a candidate that brags about their inexperience. “I’m not a Washington insider” has become a refrain during election cycles. “I’m just a regular guy like you.” How would you feel about someone saying “I’ve never cut hair before, but I’d love to cut your hair”? Or “give me a shot at performing that surgery,” while bragging that they’re not a doctor.

SURE, PEOPLE LIKE TO TELL ME THAT I’M LESS OF A POLITICIAN, AND MORE OF A STATESMAN. WHAT I WILL TELL YOU IS THAT I’M CERTAINLY NOT A TYPICAL PAY-FOR-PLAY POLITICIAN.

It is commonplace in Washington for lawmakers to make decisions for their own personal gain or to serve the donors and lobbyists who keep them in office. Prioritizing industries who pay the most destroys the balance that holds the economy together. That’s how we wind up with a system that would rather sell a cure than prevent a disease.

SUPPLY-CHAIN ISSUES, INFLATION, THE OPIOD CRISIS, ALL OF THESE PROBLEMS STEM FROM OVERLAPPING FAILURES RESULTING FROM POLITICIANS WHO FOCUS ON THE SPECIFIC AGENDA ITEM THAT WILL GET THEM PAID WITHOUT STEPPING BACK TO SOLVE THE LARGE FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS.

What’s different about me is that I refuse to accept donations. My team is made up of volunteers who love this country and want to do what they can to right its wrongs. We’re all public servants in my camp and we want to serve you, not corporations and private interests. Look at my FEC filings and compare them to my opponents. You’ll see who they work for, and who I don’t. Once I’m elected, I will continue my pledge refuse bribes from donors and lobbyists and remember that I’m in office to work for you.

BECAUSE OF THIS FREEDOM, I’LL NEVER HAVE TO SETTLE FOR SHORT-SIGHTED SELF-SERVING LEGISLATION AND INSTEAD WILL BE ABLE TO DO WHAT I’VE DONE MY WHOLE CAREER: SOLVE THE WHOLE PROBLEM.

I was raised Catholic and I continue to practice and value my faith. My religion guides my own personal moral decisions, but I firmly believe that those beliefs should not be forced upon any other individual.

ALL AMERICANS SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO PRACTICE ANY FAITH THAT THEY ARE CALLED TO OR NONE AT ALL. THAT’S WHAT FREEDOM OF RELIGION ACTUALLY MEANS.

Without the sanctity of non-partisan oversight from the Supreme Court, conservatives have to stepped up their efforts to enshrine extreme interpretations of Christian beliefs into law. I find it infuriating when they misuse the term “freedom of religion” to justify discrimination against certain populations and the restrictions of individual liberties. They have it all wrong.

THE FIRST AMENDMENT ESTABLISHES THE IDEALS THAT MAKE US PROUD TO BE AMERICANS.

When we think of the first First Amendment we all remember that it protects free speech, a free press that speaks truth to power and our right to peaceably assemble in order to stand up for what is right. What many forget is that it begins by stating that a national religion shall never be established and that no one shall be prevented from practicing their own religion.

POLITICS HAVE NO PLACE IN RELIGION, AND RELIGION HAS NO PLACE IN POLITICS.

I am dedicated to protecting voting rights and access to the ballot for all Americans. Efforts to strip voting rights away from underprivileged and BIPOC communities are nothing new.

I WILL CONTINUE TO COMBAT THE FALSE NARRATIVE THAT MAKING VOTING MORE DIFFICULT WILL SOMEHOW MAKE IT MORE SECURE.

As a tribal lawyer, I filed a lawsuit against the State of Arizona on behalf of Agnes Laughter and the Navajo Nation. At the time, they refused to let tribal members vote using their tribal identification. People outside of these communities don’t realize that many Native people living on tribal lands don’t drive, so they don’t have a driver’s license, they aren’t born in hospitals, so they don’t have a birth certificate, traditional addresses aren’t commonplace where they live.

The tribal ID creates a reasonable way to cater to these unique circumstances. Denying the validity of tribal ID’s as a form of identification denies Native people the right to vote.

IT’S EITHER AN ACT OF INTENTIONAL VOTER SUPPRESSION OR SIMPLY WILLFUL IGNORANCE.

In any case, I argued the case before the State of Arizona and won. Now you’ll see when you go to your polling place that tribal ID is an accepted form of voter identification.

Once again, this issue is under attack by conservatives who use the guise of unproven voter fraud to continue racially-targeted voter suppression. We need to reimplement Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act which provides federal oversight to changes in state voting policies. Under this statute, in order for any change to a state’s voting policy to take effect, it must be proven that it “does not have the purpose and will not have the effect of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race or color or [membership in a language minority group].”

I’VE WON THIS FIGHT BEFORE, AND I’LL DO IT AGAIN.

Everyone from climate change deniers to career environmentalists agree that the availability of water in our desert community is a subject that can’t be ignored. We have to stay vigilant and consider how all of our actions affect the future of water sustainability in our state. We have to secure and protect the Colorado River immediately and always consider that a priority. Ideas like mining uranium at the Grand Canyon threaten to compromise this precious resource. This is unacceptable.

AS YOUR REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS, I WILL IMPLEMENT MY PLAN TO SECURE A 100 YEAR WATER SUPPLY FOR OUR CITIES AND TOWNS HERE IN ARIZONA.

I will advance this policy while protecting our current agreements. Once again, politicians address these issues with their donors in mind, without making a genuine effort to solve problems. As I’ve proven before, it is possible to protect the environment, build infrastructure and serve business interests all at the same time.

If elected, I will seek a seat on the appropriations committee in order to allocate funds needed for infrastructure projects in the East Valley.

OUR COMMUNITIES HAVE HISTORICALLY BEEN NEGLECTED ON THE FEDERAL LEVEL BECAUSE OF THE INACTION OF OUR INCUMBENT CONGRESSMAN.

Mesa Gateway Airport can be a powerful economic engine for the East Valley. The SkyBridge project surrounding the airport will create hundreds of acres of development and generate thousands of jobs. It will also create a convenient customs checkpoint that will expedite international trade for businesses across the country. Because it satisfies these national interests, it deserves to be federally funded, but these efforts have had no voice in Congress.

Once elected, I will make this a priority in order to bring more jobs and economic prosperity to our community.

My wife is a paraprofessional at a tribal school. My mom was one of the last Bilingual Educator of the Year recipients here in Arizona. I take education personally.

I will fight for aggressive minimum starting salaries for teachers, instructional aides, paraprofessionals, school counselors, and other school personnel.

I ALSO BELIEVE THAT INSTITUTES OF HIGHER LEARNING, INCLUDING COMMUNITY COLLEGES, TRADE SCHOOLS, AND TECHNICAL SCHOOLS, ARE KEY TO CREATING THE FUTURE WORKFORCE OF ARIZONA.

While the four-year university is a successful model for many career paths, in other cases, that model unnecessarily creates a lifetime of debt for students.

Learning the necessary skills to get right to work at an affordable cost makes so much more sense for many Arizonans. We can’t let the past deceptive practices of a few corrupt trade schools color our perception of the entire industry. I will work to make these avenues of education more accessible while still maintaining reasonable oversight.