Gov. Jan Brewer vetoes Arizona's "Religious Right to Hate" bill.
by Ken
Last night I reported ("From Arizona to K Street: Profiles in courage, 2014 right-wing-loon-style") on the dilemma confronting Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer concerning her state legislature's "Religious Right to Hate" bill, which would have allowed Arizonans to hate homosexuals any way they like as long as it's for religious reasons. In the end, Governor Jan has given in to the pressure to veto the bill. From ThinkProgress this evening (links onsite):
Facing Overwhelming Opposition, Arizona Governor Vetoes Anti-Gay Bill
BY ZACK FORD ON FEBRUARY 26, 2014 AT 7:51 PM
After a week of national backlash, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) has vetoed SB 1062, which would have allowed religious beliefs to be used to justify discrimination against LGBT people and others. Explaining her veto, Brewer said, "I call them like I see them despite the cheers or boos from the crowd." She added that the bill does not address a specific concern and that she knows of no examples of how religious liberty has been under attack.
Opposition to the bill came from individuals and companies across the country, including the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee, Apple, and Mitt Romney. Many other states have introduced similar bills, some specifying that businesses could refuse services to marrying same-sex couples, but most have stalled or died, particularly those introduced this week during the backlash against Arizona.
This is not the first time Brewer has opposed Republican leadership; in fact, she vetoed this same bill last year as part of a vendetta against the Arizona legislature for not passing a budget. Last October, she urged Republicans in Congress to stop trying to defund Obamacare after having begged Republican state lawmakers to accept the law's Medicaid expansion. She has even suggested that the GOP should be open to tax increases as a compromise to pass a budget through Congress.
Still, Brewer is no LGBT ally either. Shortly after she assumed office, she signed a bill redefining "dependent" so that same-sex domestic partners of state employees could no longer receive benefits, arguing that "God has placed me in this powerful position as Arizona's governor" to make such decisions. She defended cutting the benefits in court, but not successfully.
UPDATE: In a letter explaining her veto, Brewer calls out Obama: "The concerns raised by the proponents of this bill are not unfounded. As a result of actions taken by the Obama Administration, as well as some federal and out-of-state courts, I am increasingly concerned about government's encroachment upon our religious freedoms."
UPDATE: In Ohio, two state lawmakers withdrew proposed legislation that mirrors the Arizona bill. "We feel that it is in the best interest of Ohioans that there be no further consideration of this legislation," State Rep Tim Derickson (R) said in a statement.
PROBABLY GOVERNOR JAN ALREADY THOUGHT SHE
WAS LIVING HER WORST POLITICAL NIGHTMARE
That, however, was yesterday. Today came this spine-chilling development:
FEBRUARY 26, 2014
MASS GAY MIGRATION AIMS TO MAKE ARIZONA MAJORITY GAY
POSTED BY ANDY BOROWITZ
PHOENIX (The Borowitz Report) -- Rejecting calls to boycott Arizona, a newly formed gay organization is mobilizing its members to move to the state by the millions in the hopes of transforming it into the nation's first majority gay state.
The group, called Americans for a Gay Arizona, has already received commitments from a million gay Americans to move to the state within the next two months, with a target of enlisting over six million gays to move there by the end of the year.
Harland Dorrinson, the executive director of the group, said that the influx of six million gays would be "more than enough" to insure that Arizona would be majority gay, but he acknowledged that he did not have an exact figure of how many gays currently reside there.
"We think it could be as many as a million," he said. "But if you add in conservative politicians, that number could go much higher."
According to one associate of Governor Jan Brewer, the plan to move six million gays to Arizona is shaping up to be the governor's worst nightmare.
"She's always been against immigration, but nothing like this," the associate said.
TOMORROW: An update on last night's other "profile
in courage," crackpot K Street lobbyist Jack Burkman
#
