Wary Ariz. businesses urge veto of anti-gay bill

TUCSON, Ariz. — Some Arizona business owners, still smarting from boycotts launched after the state passed a sweeping anti-illegal-immigration law, are trying to fend off a possible backlash from a new piece of legislation that has the gay community and its supporters in an uproar.

Some businesses have taken to social media, saying that even if the bill does become law, they will welcome LGBT customers.

The bill, approved by the Republican-controlled Senate on Wednesday and the GOP-led House on Thursday, is designed to bolster a business owner’s right to refuse service to gays and others if the owner believes doing so violates the practice and observance of his or her religion.

The Arizona bill, SB 1062, is similar to proposals in other states, including ones that failed in Kansas and Idaho. Another is under consideration in Utah.

The legislation comes as support for same-sex marriage is gaining momentum in the courts, and on the heels of two cases in which state courts sided with gay couples in wedding-related lawsuits.

In New Mexico, for example, the state Supreme Court allowed a gay couple to sue a photographer who refused to photograph their commitment ceremony.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican, on Friday told CNN that SB 1062 was a “very controversial piece of legislation. We know that. We know that it’s failed in a lot of states across the country.”

The Greater Phoenix Economic Council urged Brewer via Twitter to veto the bill.