Arizona group urges veto of gay bill
Already approved bill allows business owners with strongly held religious beliefs to refuse service to gays.
Arizona’s biggest business advocacy group has called on the state’s governor to veto a bill that allows business owners with strongly held religious beliefs to refuse service to gays.
The legislation passed last week has triggered a national backlash from supporters of gay rights, and the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry is among business groups now requesting a veto.
Three Republican state senators who voted for the bill are now urging Governor Jan Brewer to veto it. Senator Bob Worsley says he and senators Adam Driggs and Steve Pierce sent a letter to Brewer on Monday asking her to strike down the legislation. Worsley says he was uncomfortable when he voted for the bill.
Both he and Pierce called their votes a mistake.
The business chamber said the bill could hurt tourism, make it hard to recruit new businesses and open the door to lawsuits against businesses.
But conservative groups supporting the legislation are hoping Brewer signs it in to law.
The state senate is expected to formally send the already approved bill to Brewer as early as Monday afternoon. She would then have five days to act.