Tag: Arizona

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Arizona Rep. Chad Campbell receives death threats after defense of LGBT rights

https://twitter.com/repcampbell/status/436860052477968385
Via Chad Campbell Twitter account

Democratic House Minority Leader Chad Campbell was one of the LGBT community’s strongest and most impassioned voices yesterday in the Arizona House’s debate on legalizing anti-gay discrimination.

Today, he shared on Twitter that he’s now received death threats for speaking out against hate.

For the record, Campbell is heterosexual and married.

Unfortunately for Arizona he is term limited out of office this year. Here’s hoping he moves on to even bigger and better in public office.

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Arizona state House approves legalized discrimination against LGBT citizens 33-27

Graphic via Memeographs

Today, the Arizona state House voted 33-27 to legalize discrimination against gays and lesbians.

The bill, HB-2153, would expand people’s rights to claim their religious beliefs as a basis for refusing service to gays and others.

The legislation now heads to the desk of GOP Governor Jan Brewer.

Democratic Minority Leader Rep. Chad Campbell spoke passionately to the chamber, telling his fellow House members, “this is state sanctioned discrimination.”

“If you are gay, don’t come to Arizona. That’s what we’re saying to the nation,” Rep. Campbell said. “This is a direct attack on a certain group of people — the LGBT community,” he noted.

Rep. Demion Clinco, who is Arizona’s only gay lawmaker, said, “I don’t think we deserve a bill like this anywhere in this country.” Saying he was appalled by the legislation, he added it is discrimination hiding behind religious freedom.

The legislation is Arizona’s response to a lawsuit in New Mexico – Elaine Photography v. Vanessa Willock.  In that case, the New Mexico Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a photographer violated that state’s Human Rights Act by refusing to photograph a same-sex wedding.

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Arizona: State Senate approves legalizing gay discrimination

The Arizona state Senate approved a bill that would legalize anti-gay discrimination on the basis of “sincerely held religious beliefs” by a vote of 17-13:

The vote along party lines, with Republicans in the majority, came after supporters defeated an attempt to extend existing employment laws that bar discrimination based on religion and race to also include sexual orientation.

Sen. Steve Yarbrough, R-Chandler, said that’s a separate issue from what he is trying to do.

But Sen. Steve Gallardo, D-Phoenix, said that’s precisely the issue. “The bill opens the door for discrimination against gays and lesbians,” he said.

Yarbrough, however, said foes of SB 1062 are twisting what his legislation says. “This bill is not about discrimination,” he said. “It’s about preventing discrimination against people who are clearly living out their faith.”

The Arizona state House, where Republicans outnumber Democrats by 36-24,  is debating the legislation now.  You can watch the debate here.

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Arizona: Sedona approves civil unions for same-sex couples

Sedona has become the fourth Arizona city to approve civil unions for same-sex couples, joining Tucson, Bisbee, and Jerome.

The Sedona City Council voted 5-2 Tuesday night to allow civil unions regardless of gender in the red-rock country community in north-central Arizona.

Sedona’s city attorney says the ordinance borrows from local civil union laws already approved by Tucson, Bisbee and Jerome.

Sedona Mayor Rob Adams says approval of the civil union ordinance sends a message that love is love, “regardless if its two people of the same sex or not.”

(source)

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Arizona Senator Jeff Flake’s son uses homophobic, anti-semitic language on Twitter

Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) apologized today after offensive statements on his teenage son’s social media accounts were uncovered by Buzzfeed.

Sen. Jeff Flake’s high school-aged son Tanner used twitter to threaten the “faggot” who stole his bike that he “will find you, and … will beat the crap out of you,” joked about an acquaintance stealing one-liners because he’s Jewish, and went by the name “n1ggerkiller” in an online game.

Another message said “I’m down to own some faggots.”

Said Flake to Buzzfeed:

“I’m very disappointed in my teenage son’s words, and I sincerely apologize for the insensitivity. This language is unacceptable, anywhere. Needless to say, I’ve already spoken with him about this, he has apologized, and I apologize as well.”

Flake’s son’s YouTube comments contain the same slurs, and also “called Mexicans the ‘scum of the Earth’ and on several occasions bragged that his father is a member of Congress. Here are a few more samples of Tanner Flakes YouTube comments:

“you faggot retard pussy piece of crap i hope you die in a hole slowly and painfully”
“you gay fag ni**er go shoot yourself because no body likes you”
“Mexicans are the scum of the earth.”
“Then some ni**er started rapping and I looked at her album art and saw that it was Flo Rida.”
“IT’S THE NI**ER FAMILY!!!!”
“Stupid little ni**er”
“go die in a hole you stupid ni**er”
“The black guy always fails first…”
“Yes, because one white dude goes nuts. No. Black people do crap like this all of the time.”
“When he called himself a cheap jew i loled hard”

Find more examples over on Buzzfeed.

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Arizona: Civil unions law passes in Bisbee

The town of Bisbee, Arizona, has approved a new version of a civil union law for same-sex couples by a vote of 5-2.

In April, council members approved an earlier version of the measure that sought to give people in civil unions the same benefits as those in marriages.

But city officials decided to rewrite the measure after Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne threatened to sue over provisions that Horne said were in conflict with state law or went beyond the city’s authority.

Horne’s office said he approves of Bisbee’s new version of the ordinance and won’t sue to try to block it.

Other cities in Arizona, including Tempe, say they are considering similar civil union laws.

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Arizona: 55% support marriage equality

In a new poll by Rocky Mountain Poll, 55% of Arizonans support the right of same-sex couples to legally marry versus 35% who are opposed.

Arizona currently does not allow same-sex marriage as a state constitutional amendment was passed in 2008 limiting marriage rights to only heterosexual couples.

Peruse all the findings of the poll by clicking here.

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Arizona: Bisbee poised to approve civil unions

From the LA Times:

Tuesday evening, Bisbee City Council members voted to allow the next best thing to gay marriage. In a first reading of an ordinance, adding a chapter to its city charter, they cleared the way for civil unions. The vote by the seven-member council was unanimous, making it likely to pass on a final vote scheduled in two weeks.

 “I think it’s time,” Mayor Adriana Zavala Badal said of the proposal. “We’ve been working on this as a country for a long time.”

The ordinance would only affect those living within the city limits of Bisbee which has a population of about 5,600.

The Arizona state constitution forbids same-sex marriage, but mentions nothing about civil unions.

It’s uncertain if the state will challenge the ordinance or if Bisbee officials even have jurisdiction to pass the measure.

Stay tuned 🙂

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Arizona: Phoenix passes LGBT non-discrimination ordinance

 The Arizona Republic is reporting today that Phoenix, Arizona, the sixth most populous city in the nation, last night passed broad laws barring discrimination against LGBT residents:

Gay-rights advocates said the move was a long time coming. They said Phoenix, the sixth-largest city in the country, is playing “catch-up” with at least 166 other U.S. cities and counties that have adopted similar laws.
An estimated 500 people packed the Orpheum Theatre, and dozens of people spoke on both sides of the issue. Many supporters wore “yes” stickers and rainbow pins.
Mayor Greg Stanton fast-tracked the reforms, which ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression — those who identify as a different sex than they were born as.

The changes approved Tuesday would prohibit discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations, such as restaurants and hotels. Businesses and individuals that don’t comply could be criminally prosecuted and face a misdemeanor charge, punishable by a $2,500 fine. Phoenix currently offers few such safeguards for gay people but bans discrimination based on race, sex, religion, national origin, age and marital status.

(via Towleroad)

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Arizona elects first openly bisexual member of Congress

Democrat Kyrsten Sinema has defeated Republican Vernon Parker in the race for Arizona’s 9th Congressional District, CNN projected Monday.

Sinema’s win in the newly-created district adds one more seat to the list of pick-ups for Democrats in the House, putting the breakdown at 234 Republicans, 196 Democrats and two independents.

Sinema, a former state senator, had 48.1% of the vote compared to Parker, the former mayor of Paradise Valley, at 45.3%, according to the office of Arizona’s Secretary of State on Monday.

Sinema is the first openly bisexual member of Congress.

She will be the only out LGBT female in the House in the 113th Congress and only the second out LGBT female in Congress.

Tammy Baldwin, who served in the House since winning her seat in 1998, was elected to the Senate in Wisconsin this past Tuesday. Sinema will, however, be joining the largest group of out LGBT lawmakers on the Hill in the nation’s history. In addition to Baldwin and Sinema, out Reps. Jared Polis of Colorado and David Cicilline of Rhode Island were re-elected and Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, Mark Pocan of Wisconsin and Mark Takano of California also were elected to Congress.