Last week, Arizona lawmakers passed a bill along party lines that would allow local businesses to refuse sale of goods and services to gay Americans. Naturally, it has created quite an uproar with even some Republicans hoping it be vetoed by the governor. First reaction was to ask, does the Arizona legislature have nothing else better to do? In tough economic times such as this, one would hope that there are plenty of issues for legislatures to address, not passing laws that will only hurt the state's bottom line.
Let's start out with the slippery slope such an approach would start. So a segment of society does not like gay people and does not want to offer products to them. What about another segment that might not like minorities of any color or religion? Or how about something more nonsensical such as clothing choice, hair color, etc (at long last, can I begin my crusade against flat cap wearers)? Such a law would legitimize discrimination in the markets, despite the fact that a business person who accepts such an approach will likely not be in business for long. More so, what do you think the reaction of such people would be if a bill was put forth to deny services to religious people? We all know the uproar that would create.
This is just another case of the current Republican Party not being able to prioritize what is important. The Republican Party of my youth was one that often preached sound business approaches to not only running a business, but to also governments at the local, state, and federal levels. How does reducing your potential customer population help your business? Quite simply it does not and is not a sound business practice. Which is probably why Arizona businesses do not even want the law. So, now we have a Republican Party abandoning its business roots to cater to an extreme element within its own ranks. Cathi Herod, President of the Conservative Center for Arizona Policy, said in support of the bill:
"The Arizona legislature sent a clear message today: In our state everyone is free to live and work according to their faith"Such an interpretation of one's religious freedoms is profoundly misguided and just flat-out wrong. I often hear many devout Christians cite common idioms such as "hate the sin, love the sinner (St. Augustine)" and "judge not lest ye be judged (Matthew 7:1-5)" during political discussions and debates. So it is ironic that those same Christians will go against their biblical teachings by using their faith as a tool to discriminate against others. Depending on your interpretation, homosexuality is mentioned throughout the Old and New testaments (christianity.about.com has an interesting breakdown here). However, no where in the bible does it say that one should discriminate against homosexuals. People supporting this law are not only contradicting their own religious views of peace, love, and forgiveness, but also twisting them to their own ends by invoking their religion when such a stance is not even supported by the very religious texts they often cite.
So here we have a law being passed under the guise of religious freedom, but is actually antithetical to the teachings of the very religion of those that passed it (and let's be honest, we know how the proponents of this law would react to other religions doing the same). Furthermore, this is cast by a Republican Party reeling from two presidential election losses and is desperately trying to make up ground with a new strategy. If being compared to Muslim terrorists by a former Bush aide and lumped into the conversation with archaic, shameful laws passed by East African nations is part of this strategy, then they are just smashing it. However, as someone who is yearning for the Republican Party to return to its small government roots, this is not a sign of change, but just more of the same. Which is something the current Republican Party can ill afford.
References:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/21/us-usa-gays-arizona-idUSBREA1K06M20140221
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/198979-sen-flake-hopes-ariz-governor-vetoes-anti-gay-bill
http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/starnes-we-will-not-tolerate-anti-christian-bigotry.html
http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-ff-gay-rights-arizona-20140221,0,1812097.story#axzz2u9gXK36o
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/who-am-i-judge-popes-most-powerful-phrase-2013-v21984495
http://bustedhalo.com/questionbox/where-can-i-find-where-jesus-says-hate-the-sin-love-the-sinner
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/micah-j-murray/why-i-cant-say-love-the-sinner-hate-the-sin-anymore_b_4521519.html
http://christianity.about.com/od/Bible-Verses/a/Bible-Verses-Homosexuality.htm
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/fox-friends-finds-proof-that-sharia-law-is-changing-everything-in-america/
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/former-bush-strategist-anti-lgbt-law-uses-christianity-like-muslim-terrorists-use-islam/
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/24/world/africa/uganda-anti-gay-bill/
