‘Join me in voting against Prop A,’ Mayor Ron Nirenberg says

SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg on Tuesday made his place recognized relating to Proposition A in the May 6 election.

“I am encouraging voters to do their research before they go vote and then join me in voting against Prop A,” Nirenberg stated Tuesday on KSAT 12 News at 6.

Marijuana ownership

If handed, Proposition A would decriminalize misdemeanor marijuana ownership. San Antonio police would now not have the ability to cite or arrest folks for misdemeanor quantities of marijuana ownership — as much as 4 oz.. The proposition would additionally limit SAPD officials from the use of the odor of marijuana or hemp as possible purpose for a seek, with the exception of in some cases.

Nirenberg stated Prop A is attempting to unravel issues on the incorrect ranges of presidency.

“We can’t legalize marijuana in the city. We just can’t do that,” he stated.

Nirenberg added that Prop A will forget about “victims (of crime), from small businesses to nonprofits, to really any working family who wakes up to a smashed car window.”

The mayor stated that the courts have had luck with diversionary methods that assist low-level offenders steer clear of prison time.

“Voters need to know that our DA and courts have made great strides in reducing penalties and punitive measures for what most cases shouldn’t be a crime,” he stated.

Ananda Tomas, government director of Act 4 SA, says a quotation doesn’t get rid of arrests however provides the judges discretion to discover a appropriate punishment on a case-by-case foundation.

“It is just a citation to appear in court. This does not mean that you do not face repercussions for your actions, whether you go to jail or you go to a diversion program, or you show up to court, and they drop your marijuana possession,” Tomas advised KSAT.

Abortion

The different centerpiece of Prop A is the phase on abortion that may limit SAPD officials from investigating, making arrests, or another way imposing “any alleged criminal abortion.” The handiest exceptions can be in circumstances the place a pregnant individual is coerced or pressured or in circumstances involving habits that’s criminally negligent to the well being of the pregnant individual in the hunt for care. San Antonio seems to be the primary Texas town to try to decriminalize abortion via a poll initiative.

Nirenberg stated that the San Antonio City Council lately handed a answer supporting girls’s reproductive rights.

“We need to work at the state level to get those rights restored,” he stated.

An anti-abortion team attempted to get the Texas Supreme Court to step in and power the proposed constitution modification to be cut up into a couple of poll propositions and to extend it till the November election. However, the court docket dominated on March 17 that Prop A would seem as a unmarried poll measure in the May election.

A coalition of public advocacy teams, together with ACT 4 SA, amassed greater than the 20,000 required signatures to get the proposed modification at the May poll.

“They never should have gotten this far with this type of petition that had everything in it but the kitchen sink. Go back to the drawing board, separate the items, and then take it to the community and let the community decide what they want to do,” stated Eddie Aldrete, co-chair of San Antonio Safe.

Officials who spoke with KSAT say it’s a very powerful to learn the proposition sparsely and know it earlier than voting.

WATCH THE FULL KSAT Q&A WITH MAYOR NIRENBERG

You can check out the entire pattern poll for the May 6 election beneath:

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