Official News

The Arizona State Legislature adjourned Sine Die early this morning, Friday, June 14, 2013 at 12:59 a.m. By every measure, this session has been an extraordinary success for the Secular Coalition for Arizona, and the secular Arizonans we represent. We have lots to celebrate--but we also have to stop four last bills that made it to the Governor's desk.

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.

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.

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.