The Veto of Arizona’s SB 1062
Yesterday, the governor of Arizona, Jan Brewer, vetoed SB
1062, a bill which would have allowed business owners to deny services to
people based on their own deeply held religious convictions. The bill sparked passionate reaction on both
sides.
Proponents of the bill said that it is necessary to protect
religious liberty, while opponents said it would have enshrined prejudice
against homosexual people in law.
Republicans across the country, of course, were terrified of the bill,
and urging a veto. Many organizations
were vocal in opposition, including some loud groups whose favorite political
tactic is intimidation. However, a bill
of this magnitude should not be weighed by political calculations, but rather
by moral ones.
I haven’t looked closely enough at how the bill is written to
know whether it warranted a signature or a veto, but it seems to me that the underlying
issue at hand is really not all that complicated.
The Church consistently teaches the dignity of every human person
(regardless of sexual practice), and opposes unjust discrimination. However, it also teaches that homosexual behavior
is objectively sinful, and that there is no such thing as gay “marriage.” Any proper understanding of religious liberty
should free people from having to participate in or support activity they find
morally objectionable.
Therefore, given our current climate, there is definitely a
need for a law that protects people from providing goods and services that
support or promote such activity, such as a wedding photographer being forced
to work at a same-sex “wedding.”
However, a person is not defined by his sexual identity, and it
seems to me that discrimination that has no bearing on that activity should not
be permitted.
Now, one of the most difficult things to do is to take
politicians at their word. Many are
corrupt and easily bought. Even many
ethical politicians see lying, or at least “spin,” as a necessary tool of the
trade. However, though I do not live in
Arizona and scrutinize Governor Brewer, she has not given me reason to doubt
her sincerity. So it is with every
benefit of the doubt that I examine some of what she said upon announcing her
veto.
There were two comments that particularly struck me. (Others, of course, are relevant, as well,
from a political and legal standpoint, and have been analyzed by others.) The first comment of which I took note was
her statement that the bill was too broadly written. That very well may be true. If so, it should be rewritten and passed
again, with improvements. I would have
liked to see Ms. Brewer call for that.
The second statement was troubling. Ms. Brewer seemed to imply that the
protections in the bill are not necessary.
That sentiment is ludicrous.
Given our current climate, nothing is more necessary at this time, in
every state. The red herring of “gay
rights” is a powerful tool being used to persecute Christians (and many others)
all over the Western world. Doubtless,
there are many who see it as the key to destroying the Church. They will never do that, but people willing
to stand up for truth had better be ready to suffer for it.
On a human level, what happened yesterday is likely to scare
most politicians. But I pray that there
are some heroic leaders out there who will see the grave necessity of a bill
similar to SB 1062. It needs to be
written properly, respecting each person’s dignity, but it needs to be passed
now, everywhere.
