News

Tomorrow, May 9, 2013, the State House of Representatives will take a final vote on SB 1178, relating to the free exercise of religion. While the bill purports to provide protection for religious exercise and observance, these protections already exist under Arizona's Religious Freedom Restoration Act. What the bill actually does is broadly increase opportunities for individuals and businesses to cite religious belief as an excuse to disregard statute and threaten public safety--even if causing the threat to public safety is not necessary for actual religious exercise.

The examples of public harm are innumerable. Doctors will be empowered to refrain from prescribing medically necessary medications because his/her religion forbids the use of certain drugs. Therapists will be empowered to tell troubled patients to try religious worship instead of the treatment called for by the relevant standard of care. Businesses, particularly small businesses, may face endless streams of lawsuits because the bill allows people to raise extremely broad defenses in litigation between private parties.

Because this bill was pushed as a strike-everything that did not go through a full vetting process and allowed little time for public scrutiny, there may be even broader repercussions to the legislation that cannot be foreseen at this time. Please CLICK HERE to email your Representative and tell them not to rush through a bill with implications this serious. Let's find ways to ensure religious liberty AND protect public safety!

URGENT action needed. We are up against the worst, most damaging piece of legislation we’ve seen yet this year—and we need all hands on deck to stop it! TOMORROW, Thursday, May 2nd, the House will be voting on SB1178, which dramatically expands the ability of individuals in our state to discriminate against people they don’t agree with in the name of religious belief--resulting in increased vulnerability for nonbelievers, the LGBT community, and others on the target list of religionists.

Evangelical lobby interests, including the Center for Arizona Policy, are explicit about the need for this bill: they say Christians should not be forced to treat LGBT people fairly. CAP cites a recent New Mexico case where the State Supreme Court held that businesses cannot violate public accommodation law by refusing to provide services based on sexual orientation--and this is precisely what CAP fears for Arizona.

With the mood of the country in full swing toward Marriage Equality and full equal rights for LGBT people, religious "liberty” arguments are being made nationwide in an effort to make sure religionists do not have to follow anti-discrimination law as new freedoms are won. History is on our side: these regressive, disingenuous tactics were used in attempts to halt Women’s Suffrage, Civil Rights, and Feminism—but these movements prevailed because of reason, compassion, and the efforts of those dedicated to equality.

We will NOT allow the uniquely American right to religious liberty to be distorted by unpatriotic efforts to privilege religion over basic human freedom. 

CLICK HERE to write to our State House of Representatives and tell them to VOTE NO on SB1178. Religious exercise cannot be used as an excuse to deny basic human liberties to vulnerable Arizonans. A floor amendment is likely to be offered to make the bill seem more palatable, but we're not fooled, and we need to make sure our State Representatives aren't fooled either.

Want to do more? Call or email SC Arizona’s Community Outreach Director to find out how you can host a phone party to make sure every Representative hears from our community and knows the truth about SB1178: brian@secularaz.org; 928-699-2877.

Linda Brown has joined the Secular Coalition for Arizona (SC Arizona) as Director of Development and Marketing. She brings with her a depth of experience in non-profit management and advocacy havingserved most recently as Executive Director for the Arizona Advocacy Network and Foundation where she led a legal effort to overturn voting barriers, spearheaded statewide election protection programs and produced their acclaimed bi-annual guide to Arizona’s ballot measures. She currently serves as Vice President of the Arizona Hispanic Community Forum.

Prior to coming to Arizona Linda created award-winning marketing and media literacy campaigns as Director of Educational Marketing and Programming for Discovery Networks in Bethesda, Maryland.

“We are thrilled to have Linda join us,” said Seráh Blain, Executive Director for SC Arizona. “Attracting someone of her caliber and expertise is another signal that Arizona’s nontheist communities are on the rise in both numbers and clout.”

Brown said she was drawn to the organization because of the need for Arizona’s elected officials to hear the perspective of nontheists. “SC Arizona represents some of the most thoughtful, compassionate and pragmatic Arizonans you’ll meet,” Brown said. “With at least one in five Arizonans identifying themselves as atheists, agnostics or religiously unaffiliated, we’re your neighbors, colleagues and familymembers. We have long needed a professional, effective voice at the Capitol and Seráh Blain has been very impressive in that role. I couldn’t be more pleased to be joining her!”

After a wonderful legislative off-season in which Secular Coalition for Arizona was able to tour the state, connect with many of our communities, talk to our constituents, and engage the public both through media and our Secular Voters town hall meetings, the legislature is back in session—and SC Arizona is there, representing nontheistic Arizonans at the State Capitol fulltime for our second year.

The Fifty First Legislature – First Regular Session opened last Monday, January 14 with the swearing in of 30 Senate members and 60 members of the House of Representatives, along with Governor Brewer’s State of the State speech. Capitol events included a rally of hundreds of individuals and dozens of organizations focused around ending the theocratic encroachment into women’s reproductive rights—and our Executive Director, Seráh Blain, was among the speakers, calling for legislators to stop the dangerous descularization of our state government.

The first week back at the legislature, and Opening Day in particular, made evident how far we have come as an organization and as a movement. Last year, everything was new. We had no relationships with legislators, few connections with allied organizations, and SC Arizona was simply unrecognized beyond our own community. This year, we were invited to speak at a very visible, important, and well-attended rally; we were asked by legislators and other organizations to participate in policy discussions; dozens of people came up to our Executive Director to thank us for our work and to ask how to participate. Phone calls come in daily with new supporters, both from the State Capitol and beyond. Nontheists have a real place at the table in legislative discussions this year.