Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's staff helped write the anti-gay 'religious freedom' bill SB 1062, the AP reports:
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's staff worked with proponents of a bill that would have allowed businesses to refuse service to gays before the legislation was introduced in January, according to emails released by her office. The meetings between Brewer's legal counsel and policy director came as the Center for Arizona Policy tried to make changes to a bill that was vetoed last year to make it more palatable to the governor.
Of course, following outrage from corporate America and the public, Brewer vetoed this bill as well.
The AP adds:
Center for Arizona Policy president Cathi Herrod blamed the bill's fate on opponents who misrepresented what it does. "I believe the veto was politics at its worst,' Herrod said Monday, "The veto was of a bill that did not exist and the 1062 opponents were able to make the bill about something it was not."
She acknowledged she worked with Brewer's staff on the bill. "The governor's officer raised several questions about the language, we had thorough discussions about the language and changes were made to the language based on those discussions," she said…
Herrod's group wields great power among Republicans who control the Arizona Legislature. The social conservative group backs conservative Christian legislation and is opposed to gay marriage and abortion.
Wonderful, efficient use of taxpayer money.
