US anti-gay Bill vetoed

With the draconian anti-gay laws recently passed in Uganda and Nigeria many might believe that it is only on the African continent, and or in Russia where homophobia is on the rise. But a glance across the Atlantic to the ‘one of the freest, and indeed richest countries on the planet, we see politicians making legislation that is clearly anti-gay.

Right across the USA there have been  many concerns over the controversial Arizona Senate Bill 1062. Opponents of the Bill argued that it would have allow the State’s business owners to turn away gay and lesbian customers on the basis of their religious beliefs.

This bill was passed by the State Senate which had a great deal of support from the social conservatives who said the bill was a matter of religious liberty. The Bill received great criticisms not only from the US Gay community and its allies, but also from large multinational companies like Apple, American Airlines, the Marriott hotel chain as well as the group responsible for bringing the next Super Bowl to the state, who urged governors to veto the bill, as it could be damaging to the states economy.

Many have argued that the bill was anti-gay and could have prompted boycotts which would have been bad for businesses. The bill was vetoed yesterday by Governor Jan Brewer as she said it,

“could result in unintended and negative consequences”.

She also said,

“To the supporters of this legislation, I want you to know I understand that long-held norms about marriage and family are being challenged as never before. Our society is undergoing many dramatic changes. However I sincerely believe that Senate bill 1062 has the potential to create more problems than it purports to solve.”

Supporters of the bill however argued that the merits of the bill should have been debated and many like the president of a conservative policy organisation said that Ms Brewers veto, 

"marks a sad day for Arizonans who cherish and understand religious liberty".

The vetoing of the bill saw great cheers from the public in Arizona, and many analysts have argued that even though US public opinion is increasingly backing gay rights and same sex marriages some states have seen the makings of a backlash in recent weeks.

Rebecca Wininger, president of Equality Arizona, also said the veto was

"a clear message for those trying to use religion and those with right-leaning rhetoric that we're done... we're tired and we're done with being discriminated against".

Whist analysts may forecast a backlash in the near future; critics have argued that many bills similar to the Senate Bill 1062 have been turned down in states like Ohio where they believed the bill could encourage discrimination.

Similarly states like Texas have also joined on to the wagon of equality, as recently there was a legal ruling in Texas that appeared to be a significant boost to proponents of marriage equality. A federal judge abandoned the state’s ban on gay marriage, saying that it did not comply with the US constitution and demanded the dignity of gay people.

The rights of homosexuals has been a on-going issue, and whilst many religions may be against it, as said by Eunice Rho, advocacy and policy counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union,

“We strongly support the right of every person to exercise their religious beliefs, but religious freedom doesn’t give any of us the right to harm others”.

Roshni Vekereya