Following the Senate passage of Arizona's so-called "Religious Freedom Restoration Act," Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin released the following statement:
"This bill is bad for business, bad for the LGBT community and bad for all Arizonans. Governor Brewer, who herself described it as very controversial, must veto it and send a strong message that legally sanctioned discrimination has no place in Arizona.
"Religious groups have a long established first amendment ability to operate according to their own beliefs. However, when individuals or businesses go out into the commercial market, they must abide by legal non-discrimination provisions.
"When providing a service to the public, a business owner shouldn't pick and choose who they want to provide a service to and who they want to deny. Instead of protecting religious liberty, this bill gives license for discrimination to run rampant across the state."
Americans overwhelmingly believe that businesses should not be able to deny services to someone because they're gay or lesbian:
—According to a poll by Third Way and the Human Rights Campaign 69 percent of Americans don't think a business owner should be allowed to refuse to provide products or services to an individual because that person is gay or lesbian, compared to an incredibly small 15% that do. And when asked about small business owners in particular, a full 68% of Americans don't think they should be able to refuse service to gays or lesbians, regardless of their religious beliefs. This supermajority included 55% of Republicans, 75% of Independents, 67% of people without college degrees, and 68% of Christians.
—When asked specifically about wedding-related services, like catering, flowers, or cakes, being provided by small businesses, 64% of voters were still opposed to new laws that would allow small businesses to deny wedding-related services based on their religious beliefs, compared to 31% in favor.
Because the language is so broad, any individual, corporation, institution, or business organization may be able to justify discrimination against LGBT individuals by claiming a religious belief. Potential examples include:
—Undermining local non-discrimination ordinances protecting LGBT individuals.
—Interfering with licensing organizations that have professional regulations protecting LGBT individuals.
—Employees may potentially bring litigation against employers who are enforcing internal nondiscrimination policies, including employer provided benefits for same-sex spouses ( health insurance, retirement ) and LGBT non-discrimination policies.
—Pharmacists could potentially refuse to provide HIV and hormone replacement therapy drugs.
—Restaurants, inns/hotels could potentially turn away same-sex couples celebrating an anniversary, adoption or pregnancy.
—Wedding garment shops, bakeries, photo studios, and reception halls could close their doors to same-sex couples planning their weddings.
TWO urges Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer to veto bogus religious liberty bill; Boycott of Arizona justified if anti-gay bill becomes law
CHICAGO - Truth Wins Out strongly urged Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer today to veto a noxious anti-gay bill disguised as an effort to protect "religious liberty." The bill, SB1062, would essentially allow anyone in the state to justify blatant and brazen discrimination against LGBT people in services or accommodations based on a declaration of sincere religious conviction. The bill is a nightmare that would give bigots free rein to harm the lives of LGBT people and their families.
"We strongly urge Gov. Jan Brewer to veto this noxious bill that promotes discrimination in the guise of protecting religious freedom," said Truth Wins Out's Executive Director Wayne Besen. "If this bill becomes law, it will be a disaster for Arizona's reputation and severely tarnish the governor's legacy. Does she really want history to remember her as 'Jan Crow'?
"This seems to be a concerted Hail Mary campaign to carve out special rights for religious conservatives so that they don't have to play by the same rules as everyone else does," said Evan Hurst, Truth Wins Out's Associate Director. "In this new up-is-down world, anti-gay religious folks are 'practicing their faith' when they're baking cakes or renting out hotel rooms to travelers. On the ground, these bills hurt real, live LGBT people."
According to Politico, "legislative action was completed last week, and if the state Senate officially delivers the bill today, it would start a five-day clock for the Republican governor to act on a proposed law."
Having lost the culture war, social conservatives in several states are trying to place themselves above the law and carve out special rights to discriminate based on their faith. According to Mother Jones:
Republicans lawmakers and a network of conservative religious groups has been pushing similar bills in other states, essentially forging a national campaign that, critics say, would legalize discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation….the states with such bills are Idaho, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Kansas, Arizona, Hawaii, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Mississippi.
The Arizona bill has drawn critics such as actor George Takei, who spends time in Arizona.
"This 'turn away the gay' bill enshrines discrimination into the law," wrote George Takei. "Your taxi drivers can refuse to carry us. Your hotels can refuse to house us. And your restaurants can refuse to serve us. So if our appeals to equality, fairness, and our basic right to live in a civil society without doors being slammed in our face for being who we are don't move you, I'll bet a big hit to your pocketbook and state coffers will."
Threats of a boycott have led to harsh criticism of the bill by Arizona's business community. The Phoenix Chamber of Commerce and the Arizona Chamber of Commerce oppose SB 1062. Today, there will be gathering at the Capitol building between 5:30-6PM to urge the governor to veto this bill. (1700 W. Washington, Phoenix, Arizona 85007)
Truth Wins Out (TWO) is a non-profit organization that works to demolish the very foundation of anti-gay prejudice. Our philosophy is simple: We attack the underpinnings of homophobia by debunking harmful lies, discrediting hateful myths, and countering anti-gay organizations. By chipping away at the underlying ignorance that fuels anti-LGBT attitudes, we can ultimately win our fight for fairness and achieve full equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people worldwide.
