Arizona Governor Jan Brewer today vetoed Senate Bill 1062, which would have given Arizona business owners license to discriminate against LGBT people.
"Discrimination is not an American value, plain and simple," said GLAAD CEO and President Sarah Kate Ellis. "Governor Brewer today demonstrated that basic respect for LGBT people extends across party lines, and anti-LGBT bias isn't just bad politics, it's bad for business. As other states consider similar laws that aim only to make LGBT people's lives more difficult, legislators would do well to remember that anti-LGBT laws just won't be tolerated."
On Tuesday, GLAAD urged Gov. Brewer to veto the bill.
More than 80 companies also signed a letter in opposition to the bill against the bill. Additional companies that spoke out against the bill included Apple, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, GoDaddy Group, Intel, JPMorgan Chase, Marriott, Southwest Airlines, and Yelp.
Sports organizations including Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Football League (NFL) also expressed concern about the bill. Arizona is slated to host the Super Bowl in 2015.
Others who spoke out include U.S. Senators from Arizona John McCain and Jeff Flake. Senator McCain told CNN's Chris Cuomo that "This [bill] is going to hurt the state of Arizona's economy and, frankly, our image, so I hope that the Governor of Arizona will veto this and we will move on."
Faith leaders have also spoken out strongly against the bill, including the Rev. Debra W. Haffner, President of the Religious Institute; the Rev. Nancy Wilson, Moderator of the Metropolitan Community Churches; and Mary E. Hunt, Ph.D. of the Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual.