Welcome home, Governor Brewer.
Upon her return Tuesday from the National Governors Association meeting in Washington, D.C., Arizona governor Jan Brewer had SB 1062 waiting for her.
Last Thursday, the state legislature passed the controversial bill, 33-27, that would allow business owners to deny service to gay and lesbian customers if it conflicts with their religious beliefs. The bill landed on Brewer's desk Monday. According to state law, she has by Friday to veto or sign the bill, or do nothing and thus allow it to become a law.
Gov. Brewer, a Republican and once a small business owner herself, has discussed the various aspects of the decision she must make. Last Friday she told CNN that businesses have a right to deny service. "I think anybody that owns a business can choose who they work with or who they don't work with," Brewer said. "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."
Supporters of the bill defend it as a step toward religious freedom and say it will send a strong message to the rest of the nation. Among those supporters is the Center for Arizona Policy (CAP), a conservative, Phoenix-based nonprofit organization. "The attacks on SB 1062 show politics at its absolute worse," said CAP President Cathi Herrod in a statement on the center's website. "They represent precisely why so many people are sick of the modern political debate. Instead of having an honest discussion about the true meaning of religious liberty, opponents of the bill have hijacked this discussion through lies, personal attacks, and irresponsible reporting."
Although spokesman Andrew Wilder said the governor has not yet made a decision on the bill, sources close to the governor told NBC that Brewer is likely to veto the anti-gay measure. "It's been her proclivity in the past to focus on the priorities she wants (the legislature) to accomplish, and this was clearly not part of her agenda," Chuck Coughlin, a longtime adviser to Brewer, chimed in on the report. According to that same NBC article, another source close to the governor stated that "she doesn't want to take any actions that could jeopardize the economic momentum we've seen here in Arizona."
Public opposition to the anti-gay bill has grown in the past week, including a tweet from former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.
U.S. Senators Jeff Flake and John McCain, both Republicans from Arizona, called upon Brewer to veto the bill.
Arizona State Rep. Demion Clinco, a Democrat and the sole openly gay member of the Arizona House of Representatives, spoke out against the bill in a statement following its passage. "This legislation clearly targets the LGBTQ community and cities like Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff that have extended civil rights protections to the LGBTQ community," the statement reads. "I began serving in this chamber less than a month ago, and already I am seeing the dramatic lengths the extremists here will go to push an agenda. For the state to actively pursue legislation that would justify discrimination is an affront to the people of Arizona."
Photo URL: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Jan_Brewer.jpg
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