Gay marriage ruling will bring renewed push for religious liberty protections

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With marriage licenses just starting to be issued to gay couples across the state, lawmakers are already talking about ways to protect religious organizations and businesses from being forced to participate in gay marriages, and SB1062 is back on the forefront of many minds.

Republican Rep. JD Mesnard of Chandler noted that several cities in Arizona consider the LGBT community to be a protected class, and that could lead to lawsuits over bakers or photographers who do not want to work for gay weddings.

He said lawmakers will likely be pushing for some kind of religious liberties bill along the lines of SB1062 when the legislative session begins in January, and that whatever your opinion is of the bill, the area of religious liberties versus equality needs to be addressed.

“If I sit here and say there’s going to be another SB1062, everyone is going to lose their minds because it was so controversial,” Mesnard said. “But there has to be some kind of acknowledgement that we have to develop the right kind of policy to handle situations that may arise when one person believes something should happen because of equality, and someone else on the liberties side of the argument says you shouldn’t force someone to do that. We’re going to have to have that conversation.”

Mesnard predicted that the next step for gay rights activists will be to push for a statewide protected class, which will likely push the conversation of religious liberties back to the forefront.

“I think a decision like this obviously will have policy ramification, and we as a Legislature are going to have to sift out how we balance people’s religious beliefs and people’s equality beliefs, and it’s not going to be an easy discussion,” he said.

But Republican Rep. T.J. Shope of Coolidge said the appetite isn’t there to bring up issues along the lines of SB1062.

“We’ve gone down that road. Let’s just leave well enough alone,” he said.

Shope said he was supportive of the decision to allow gay marriages, and said it sends a good signal to the world that Arizona is welcoming and open to all kinds of people.

“It’s a good day, because there are a lot of people who are very happy about this,” he said.

Even Republicans are happy about the end of the ban on gay marriages, to some degree, he said.

The fact that gay marriage would become a reality has been obvious for a long time, and the GOP has been a losing battle to stop it. Now that the issue is settled, Republicans can get back to fighting winning battles, Shope said.

“I’m happier than hell to have this over with… It’s off the table, let’s move on,” Shope said.

Democratic Rep. Demion Clinco of Tucson, the only openly gay member of the Arizona House of Representatives, said he hopes the decision doesn’t lead to lawmakers trying to go back down the road of SB1062, and instead hopes they have the opposite reaction and actually provide some kind of protected class status for the LGBT community, which he said would help attract major employers to Arizona.

“If we don’t make a move to make sure that everyone is treated equally under the law and that we don’t allow discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, we’re going to lose out to other companies that do when they look at relocating,” he said.

Clinco called the decision to allow gay couples to marry long overdue and said that it’s only a matter of time before all 50 states recognize gay marriage.

“This is a huge step forward towards ensuring all are treated equal under the law,” he said.

Republican Rep. Kate Brophy McGee said that she supports Horne’s decision to not pursue any appeals to the ruling, saying it would have been a waste of time and taxpayer money.

She said the decision also is a huge step towards repairing Arizona’s bruised image, and will be an economic boon to the state.

Brophy McGee, who was one of only three Republican lawmakers who voted against SB1062, said that she expects some kind of religious liberties legislation to pop back up following the decision, but lawmakers should move past the issue and focus on economic troubles that are much more important issues right now.

Like many other Republicans, Brophy McGee said she saw the decision coming a long time ago, and said that while gay marriage is still divisive to older Republicans, it’s really a generational issue, and even younger Republicans don’t have a problem with gay marriage the same way older people do.

“In my generation, it has been a very big deal. If you talk to any of my kids, they’ll tell you it’s not. It’s a generational shift, and I understand it’s going to be harder for some. But it’s what’s good for Arizona,” she said.

Brophy McGee said she’s been touched by what she’s seen on the news.

“I see people crying and happy and I understand the feelings of good people trying to live happy lives,” she said.

Democratic lawmakers across the board said they’re thankful that gay marriages are now legal in Arizona, but cautioned there’s still work to be done to promote full equality for the LGBT community.

Democratic Sen. Steve Gallardo of Phoenix, who announced earlier this year that he is gay, said he know this day would eventually come, but was surprised it came so soon. But a flurry of recent court actions left Arizona officials no choice in the matter but to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples immediately.

However, Gallardo warned the state must work to pass employment non-discrimination laws and to end some current laws on Arizona’s books – for instance, a law giving adoption preference to straight couples rather than any couple at all.

“I think there’s still, in terms of gay marriage, I think there’s still some laws that need to be looked at,” he said.

Republican Rep. Sonny Borrelli of Lake Havasu City said while he is personally against gay marriage, he has gay friends, some of whom are Republicans, and he didn’t think the end of the gay marriage ban was a big deal compared to some of the other issue the state faces.

“My constituents out here, and this is a very mixed bag of individuals… They don’t make an issue out of it. What you do in your home is your own business,” he said.

He said that the court decision goes against the will of the people who voted in 2008 to ban gay marriage in Arizona, but he said the writing has been on the wall for a long time that the judicial branch would eventually overturn the ban.

A Republican dominated Legislature may be reluctant to make the changes Gallardo and some Democrats desire, as some lawmakers, such as Republican Rep. John Kavanagh of Scottsdale, said the issue is “really still up in the air,” even after the 9th Circuit Court’s ruling.

“I’m extremely disappointed, and I’m hopeful that the Supreme Court will stop wavering on this issue and once and for all decide this question for the whole nation,” Kavanagh said.

Kavanagh argued that it’s an issue the state should be able to decide, citing a voter-approved marriage proposition that amended the Arizona constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman in 2008.