John Kerry: Arizona’s Governor should ‘make the right decision’ and veto anti-gay bill
US Secretary of State John Kerry has urged Arizona’s Governor to “make the right decision” and veto a bill to legalise anti-gay discrimination.
Arizona’s Senate Bill 1062 would prevent the state from taking action against individuals and businesses who refuse services to people or groups based on their religious beliefs if such enforcement would “substantially burden” the free exercise of their religion.
The bill was given final approval by the legislature on Friday, but Brewer has not said whether she will sign it into law.
As well as encouraging Governor Jan Brewer to veto the bill, Mr Kerry said he thought the US Supreme Court would strike it down anyway, if it became law.
According to the Associated Press, John Kerry was responding to a question about his criticism of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act.
He said in the MSNBC interview that he hoped Brewer would veto the bill before her Saturday deadline, and noted the progress towards LGBT equality in the US.
Various large corporations have lobbied Brewer to veto the bill, and some have speculated that the threat of Arizona losing its chance to host the 2015 Super Bowl will sway her to use her veto.
