By Scott Bixby | Daily Beast
Jan Brewer’s veto of SB 1062 doesn’t change a thing: discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is quite alright by the law.
Being an Arizona resident entitles you to a lot of peculiar things. You can never be legally refused a glass of water. Your driver’s license won’t expire until you hit retirement age. Every gallon of ice cream you purchase in the Grand Canyon State is guaranteed to weigh at least four and a half pounds.
What being an Arizonan doesn’t guarantee you is the right to not be fired for being gay, and Governor Janet Brewer’s veto of SB 1062 doesn’t change a damn thing about that. Lost in the celebration of the bill’s downfall is the fact that it’s just as legal in Arizona today to fire someone, deny them service, and evict them for being gay or lesbian as it was yesterday.
Statement by David Weissman: “While it is accurate to say that there is no protection under Arizona STATE law from being fired/discriminated against based on sexual orientation, various municipalities have enacted ordinances that prevent discrimination on this basis (Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff). So, arguably SB 1062, if it had been enacted, could have potentially undermined the protections of those ordinances.”
