Tempe (Ariz.) council passes anti-discrimination law

[Newsjock]

Source: Arizona Republic

One day after Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed Senate Bill 1062, the Tempe City Council approved an anti-discrimination ordinance that will secure broad civil-rights protections for gay and transgender residents.

... It is time for Arizona cities to take a stance and ensure that all residents are afforded the same civil liberties, Councilman Corey Woods said of the anti-discrimination law before the Tempe council tonight. “Members of the LGBT community, they are our friends, they’re our neighbors, they’re our family members,” Woods said. “They are just like anybody else and they deserve the right to be able to work without the fear of being fired for who they are.”

The city ordinance bans discrimination in housing, employment and accommodations at restaurants and hotels, but includes exceptions for religious organizations and social clubs. Businesses or individuals that discriminate in Tempe on the basis of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, gender, religion, national origin, familial status, age, disability and U.S. military veteran status could face a civil sanction with a fine of as much as $2,500.

Tempe becomes the fourth Arizona city to provide such protections, joining Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/community/tempe/articles/20140227tempe-poised-ok-anti-discrimination-law.html

[Zorra]

1. Thanks, after being threatened with Jim Crow laws, this is refreshing. nt

[Aristus]

2. People who live in cities understand the need for broad-based civil rights laws for everyone.

It's the hicks from the sticks who cause the problems...

[Jim Lane]

3. Doesn't this make clear that, despite the veto, anti-gay discrimination is legal in most of Arizona?

The vetoed bill would have allowed a religious exemption from anti-discrimination laws. Federal law, however, does not include sexual orientation among the prohibited categories of discrimination (and if it did, the state couldn't rewrite that law anyway). The absence of federal protection is why, in most states, it's still legal for employers to refuse to hire LGBT job applicants.

The complaints against bakers and photographers who refused to have involvement in same-sex wedding ceremonies have arisen under state law, in states that have such laws. Not surprisingly, in view of the level of bigotry shown in this whole episode, Arizona isn't one of them.

Gail Collins made this point in her February 27 column:

Meanwhile, the business community has both practicality and righteousness on its side. The bill really is bad for business. Plus, it’s narrow and mean. It was written in response to incidents in New Mexico and Colorado in which gay couples successfully sued commercial establishments whose owners refused to take their wedding photographs or make them a wedding cake.

Fear of being forced to bake for homosexuals is apparently so deep-seated that the Arizona lawmakers were able to ignore the fact that unlike New Mexico and Colorado, their state has no law barring discrimination against gays in public accommodations. It’s already possible for a business to refuse to even sell them a Valentine. (from "The State of Arizona")

I'm guessing that the cities listed in the OP account for a significant percentage of Arizona's population. In the rest of the state, though, the bill would have had no legal effect even if Brewer had signed it. With or without S 1062, businesses in most of Arizona are still free to discriminate against LGBT people, whether the business owner has a religious basis or just a purely secular prejudice.

[leftynyc]

4. Glad to see this

I went to Arizona State 30 years ago.

[Herself]

5. I found the bill that Georgia legislators were trying to push

thru quietly concerning legal discrimination and have directed many posts to their state asking questions about it.

An easy way to out sneaky republican crap is to post publicaly on their facebook pages. Get their people talking about it and asking their legislators questions.

The GA bill is House Bill 1023, the "Preservation of Religious Freedom Act."

If anyone else is interested

[sinkingfeeling]

6. So who votes for the Repub idiots that came up with HB 1062 if all the large

cities of Arizona are passing anti-discrimination laws?

[Blue_Tires]

7. I've been so jaded

I swear I thought the headline said "Tempe Council Passes Discrimination Law"