PHOENIX — The Phoenix City Council voted to arm cops thousands of miles away in war-torn Ukraine.
Two Republican lawmakers from Prescott -- State Reps. Quang Nguyen and Selina Bliss -- are telling the council they can't ship the weapons.
A letter to Mayor Kate Gallego and council members calls the vote "plainly unlawful" and urges its immediate repeal. Nguyen and Bliss lead the Judiciary Committee in the House.
Arizona law does put constraints on what cities can do with firearms that come into their possession.
Former Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich won a legal fight six years ago that clarified the law.
The Arizona Supreme Court ruled that state law trumped a Tucson ordinance that allowed the city to destroy unclaimed weapons.
Miami's weapons shipment to Ukraine last year is a model for Phoenix's new ordinance.
According to the Phoenix ordinance, only "unclaimed handguns and shotguns" will be sent to the Ukraine Police Force. The city considers personal property, including firearms, as unclaimed when no owner has contacted the city after a 30-day notice.
The ordinance was approved without discussion at the council's June 28 meeting. In February, the City Council approved a contract with a Phoenix-based business to auction off gun's confiscated in court proceedings.
A Phoenix spokesman says the city is moving ahead with drafting a two-year contract for the Ukraine shipment through a Pittsburgh-based logistics company.
City lawyers' response to the Republican lawmakers' letter could be released by the end of this week.
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