On Thursday, Arizona legislature passed a new law that would give business owners the ability to deny a person service to gay and lesbian customers, as long as they "assert their religious beliefs" in doing so. The law now will be sent and proposed to Governor Jan Brewer. Though she has vetoed similar laws in the past, she has also expressed understanding and apparent agreement that business owners should have this right. Here is a quote from Brewer in a statement to CNN - "I think anybody that owns a business can choose who they work with or who they don't work with, but I don't know that it needs to be statutory. In my life and in my businesses, if I don't want to do business or if I don't want to deal with a particular company or person or whatever, I'm not interested. That's America. That's freedom." Wingspan, an LGBT group in Arizona held a protest on Friday in opposition to the proposed law. Business owners are also showing much disapproval, such as the owner of Rocco's Little Chicago Pizzeria in Tucson, Arizona, who says that its a "ridiculous bill" as well as that "Arizona has much bigger problems than allowing businesses to discriminate against people."
The article also talked a lot about how the law will affect businesses. Several businesses have already decided to relocate if the law is passed by the governor. In addition, it would promote discrimination of all sorts of social groups, not just the LGBT community. I think would really foster a sense of discrimination and hate, and would likely lead to tension between gay people and those who aren't. The Center for Arizona Policy, the group that is the main stalwart of the law, made the following statement about it; "As we witness hostility towards people of faith grow like never before, we must take this opportunity to speak up for religious liberty. The great news is that SB 1062 protects your right to live and work according to your faith." This statement is immensely hypocritical; hostility is what is driving the law to be passed, but the law itself promotes hostility towards the LGBT community. In this day and age, especially in America, it is truly astonishing to me that laws like this one are even being thought about. We (Americans) have made so much progress in equality, and it's truly a shame to see these kinds of laws being proposed. Furthermore, what I think is terrifying is that this law is eerily similar to anti-gay laws put in place by Vladamir Putin, a president who most in America see as a ruthless dictator.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/21/us/arizona-anti-gay-bill/index.html?hpt=hp_bn1
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