State Senators in Arizona have passed a new law that will allow business owners to refuse service to homosexuals based on their religious beliefs.
The Christian Post is reporting that Senate bill SB 1062 passed with a 17-13 vote, mostly along party lines, and will now State senators in Arizona voted heavily along partisan lines Wednesday in passing a bill that allows business owners to refuse service to homosexuals based on their religious beliefs. A companion bill is expected to pass in the House shortly.
“This bill is not about discrimination,” said Senator Steve Yarbrough (R) who is a sponsor of the bill. “It’s about preventing discrimination against people who are clearly living out their faith.”
The bill comes in the wake of several disturbing cases in the U.S. where Christian-owned photography studios and bakeries have been sued by same-sex couples for refusing to provide services to their weddings, even though there were plenty of other photographers and bakers willing to do so. As a result, these lawsuits seemed more about punishing Christians for disapproving of their lifestyles than fighting for equal rights.
Sen. Steve Gallardo (D) voted against the bill, saying that while everyone has a right to their religious views, they shouldn’t be allowed to force them on others.
“I do not agree that we have the right to discriminate because of our religious beliefs,” said Gallardo. “I do not believe we have to throw our religious beliefs to others that don’t share our same beliefs.”
Yarbrough told the Arizona Daily Star that opponents of the bill are missing the point of why the Founding Fathers crafted religious protections in the First Amendment.
“One’s faith, at least in America, extended to the workplace, to the public square and to all aspects of our lives,” he said. The new bill is “aimed at preventing the rising attempts at discriminating against folks because they are sincere and serious about the free exercise of their religious faith.”
Sen. Kelli Ward, R-Lake Havasu, agreed.
“A person does not lose their First Amendment freedoms when they start a business,” she said. “In America, people are free to live and work according to their faith.”
Arizona already has laws protecting individuals and businesses from any state action which substantially interferes with their right to exercise their religion. The new law will simply extend those protections to cover private transactions as well.
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