Arizona’s governor may put the brakes on a controversial bill that would allow businesses to refuse service to gay customers — amid a backlash that included condemnation from the NFL and Sen. John McCain.
Several media organizations Tuesday quoted sources close to Governor Jan Brewer who said the Republican would likely veto Senate Bill 1062. The bill would protect businesses who refuse to serve gay or lesbian customers on religious grounds from lawsuits, but has been blasted by opponents as anti-gay.
Brewer returned home Tuesday after five days in Washington and has not publicly said whether she would veto the bill. But three sources close to the governor told NBC News Brewer would likely veto it over fears the legislation could hurt the state’s economy.
“It’s been her proclivity in the past to focus on the priorities she wants them [the legislature] to accomplish, and this was clearly not part of her agenda,” longtime Brewer political adviser Chuck Coughlin told NBC News.
Another source close to Brewer also told NBC the governor “doesn’t want to take any actions that could jeopardize the economic momentum we’ve seen here in Arizona.”
The NFL, which plans to hold the 2015 Super Bowl in Arizona, stopped short of saying the game could be moved from the state over the legislation, but it said in a statement Tuesday that “Our policies emphasize tolerance and inclusiveness and prohibit discrimination based on age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation or any other improper standard … We are following the issue in Arizona and will continue to do so should the bill be signed into law.”
Sen. John McCain tweeted on Monday, “I hope Governor Brewer will veto #SB1062.”
Some Republican senators who pushed the bill through the Legislature are now calling for a veto as well, but they cite “inaccurate” information about the measure for igniting a firestorm. They argue the bill is designed only to protect business owners with strong religious beliefs from discrimination lawsuits that have happened in other states. Some blame the media for blowing the law out of proportion.
Democrats say that argument doesn’t wash and call SB1062 “toxic” legislation that allows discrimination. They said they warned Republicans who voted for the bill that it was destined for trouble.
“We brought this to their attention five weeks ago,” said Sen. Steve Gallardo, D-Phoenix. “We said this is exactly what is going to happen. You have a bill here that’s so toxic it’s going to divide this Legislature. It’s going to be polarizing the entire state. And that’s exactly what happened.”
The bill was pushed by the Center for Arizona Policy, a social conservative group that opposes abortion and gay marriage. The group says the proposal simply clarifies existing state law and is needed to protect against increasingly activist federal courts.
The state’s Super Bowl Committee also weighed into the controversy Tuesday, saying in a statement that a boycott over the bill could hamstring the state’s economy.
“On that matter we have heard loud and clear from our various stakeholders that adoption of this legislation would not only run contrary to that goal but deal a significant blow to the state’s economic growth potential. We do not support this legislation,” the committee said.
The NFL moved the 1993 Super Bowl from Tempe, Ariz., to Pasadena, Calif., after voters refused to approve a paid holiday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1990. Arizona voters approved the holiday in 1992, and the NFL held Super Bowl XXX in Tempe’s Sun Devil Stadium four years later.
The Arizona bill comes just months before the NFL may draft its first openly gay player. Missouri defensive end Michael Sam is expected to be picked in the third to fifth round at the NFL Draft in May.
With AP