Arizona's new state House Speaker doesn't believe LGBTQ people are equal under the law

[turbinetree]

Rep. Russell "Rusty" Bowers (R) led the charge for discrimination in the Copper State as early as 1994 and doesn't appear to have evolved.

JOSH ISRAEL
NOV 29, 2018, 8:00 AM

Though the midterm blue wave in Arizona helped Democrats pick up a U.S. Senate seat, one U.S. House seat, three other statewide offices, and three seats in the House of Representatives, Republicans still held the slimmest possible majority in that body, holding 31 seats to the Democrats’ 29. Despite his decades-long record of opposing LGBTQ rights, Republicans selected Mesa state Rep. Russell “Rusty” Bowers (R) to be their new Speaker of the House.

Bowers is in his second stint in state government: he originally served in the state House from 1993 to 1997, then served in the state Senate from 1997 to 2001 (where he served as Majority Leader). After an unsuccessful 2010 Congressional campaign, he was elected to return to the state House in 2014. Over that time, one thing has been constant: he does not believe LGBTQ people deserve equal treatment under the law.

His bigotry was on display as early as his first term in the legislature. In 1994, angry that Phoenix passed a 1992 ordinance prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation for city employees and large city contractors, Bowers authored a proposed amendment to Arizona’s state constitution to prohibit localities from adopting gay rights laws. His reasoning: he believed homosexual behavior to be bad for society. “When a public entity endorses a behavior (through ordinances), it is very dangerous,” he said at the time. “It legitimizes it.” Two years later, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a similar Colorado ban as a clear violation of the constitution’s equal protection clause.

In 2000, Bowers was on the losing side of a 24-to-4 vote in the state Senate on a bill to ban insurance companies from discriminating against victims of domestic violence. His objection was based on an amendment that made clear that the state’s domestic violence laws equally applied to victims in same-gender relationships, which he feared would require the state to pay for domestic violence reconciliation and counseling for same-sex couples.

https://thinkprogress.org/arizona-republicans-rusty-bowers-speaking-leading-homophobe-8e797977f1e0/


I just wonder what he would do if one of his kids said they were gay.....................what an asshole.................a mean spirited little asshole .................

[The Genealogist]

1. He'd probably be one of those parents who throw their LGBTQI teen out on the street

Another pile of shit bigot who probably has a closet full of his own sexual skeletons. Seems the louder and more bigoted these dopes are, the more of their own dirt they have to hide.

[CurtEastPoint]

2. Look at this dreck about this GD religious nut

I call bullshit:

Some of Rusty's most formative experiences have come while looking through the eyes of others. He has spent much of his adult life trying to understand and teach others about the culture of Mexico, and has participated in humanitarian service for the Tarahumara Indians living high in the mountains of the states of Chihuahua and Sinaloa. These experiences have given him a broad perspective, and the ability to look at a problem from multiple angles. This ability has helped him make wise choices throughout his life and previous public service.

Rusty Bowers is committed to serving the people of this district in a fair and honest manner

[turbinetree]

3. Yepper, spot on.................I say bull shit....................he is racist POS