Arizona and the Right to Discriminate

A lesbian couple walks into a wedding dress shop in Mesa and is promptly told that they aren’t welcome and must leave. A bisexual student in Tucson is denied entrance to a private high school because of his sexual orientation. A woman pregnant out of wedlock is turned away from the obstetrician’s office in downtown Phoenix, unable to receive the medical care she so desperately needs.
A new Arizona law will make these forms of discrimination legally permissible. Businesses and individuals will now be able to discriminate freely using only the “freedom of religion” as a defense against civil litigation.
Last week, the Arizona State Legislature successfully approved the controversial Senate Bill 1062. The bill passed the Senate on a party-line vote and promptly cleared the House in a 33-28 vote. According to SB 1062, businesses, individuals, and churches can legally refuse services to any customer as long as they can cite a religious reason for doing so. The legislation gives Arizona institutions the right to discriminate, effectively creating a separate and unequal class of citizens.
Republican Governor Jan Brewer vetoed similar legislation last year. However, the bill’s opponents fear that she will not take the same action this time around as she has not publicly taken a position since the bill cleared both houses. In an interview with CNN last week, Governor Brewer expressed her belief that “anybody that owns a business can choose who they work with or who they don’t work with.” She continued, “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.”
During debate, supporters of the bill repeatedly referred to a New Mexican photographer who was sued for refusing to photograph a gay marriage. During floor debate, conservative representatives made clear that this bill was not anti-gay, but rather pro-religious. “I will accept you because you are a child of God,” said GOP Rep. Steve Montenegro, “but please don’t ask me to go against my religious beliefs.”
Though Republican legislators were largely in agreement during debate, state interest groups that typically support conservatives are lining up in opposition to the bill. Business groups like the Greater Phoenix Economic Council have made unlikely alliances with Democratic legislators such as House Minority Leader Chad Campbell. Representative Campbell has been the most vocal of the opposition, calling the bill “state-sanctioned discrimination towards the LGBT community.” “The world is upset with how Russia has treated gay rights,” Rep. Campbell tweeted. “I think it’s time for that same anger to be directed towards AZ.”
The effects of passing such a bill extend beyond its initial intentions because of the precedent it sets. SB 1062 sanctions the discrimination of any group of people with whom religious individuals do not want to associate. Denying the right to attend public accommodation is a slippery slope to discrimination based on religion, age, sex, disability, or even race.
Religious freedom is certainly a fundamental right. However, it should never be used as an excuse to blindly discriminate. As a proud Arizonian and lifelong native, I know we can do better. I fear that this bill will mean I will have to walk down the street in my hometown and see signs reading “no gays allowed” in shop windows.
In times like these, it is easy to forget Arizona’s distinguished history on civil rights. We should remember that Arizona broke new ground in 1953 by passing the first desegregation law in the country. We should recall the work of activists like Lincoln and Eleanor Ragsdale who fought so hard to make Phoenix the first U.S. city to desegregate its schools, one year before the Brown decision. And finally, we should remember that Arizona was one of the earliest states in the country to enact complete women’s suffrage in 1912 in just the first general election in state history. Arizona has a notable history of respecting civil rights and human decency. Let us not throw it away now.
Photo credit: Guardian Liberty Voice