As 2014 rolled along, a new bill was proposed in Arizona. This bill could’ve potentially started a long line of discrimination and intolerance in America. The bill was considered to be parallel to the Jim Crow Laws of the South that were in effect from 1876 to 1965, which totals to almost 90 years of legal racial discrimination.
The bill that legislators were trying to pass originally started in Arizona and would allow employers, shop-owners and others who provide service to deny their service to anyone who they assumed or knew to be homosexual. Those refusing service would be allowed is they practice a certain religion which deems these beliefs to be wrong.
This bill was written after a court case in which a photographer was sued for discrimination after refusing to photograph a same-sex wedding. He lost the court case, and then the bill came into circulation in rebuttal to the lawsuit.
The bill was compared to the Jim Crow Laws, because those racial segregation laws defined African Americans as “separate but equal.” During this long period in time, segregation was still in place even after laws of equality were put into action.
The bill caused such a huge upset, not only because of its parallel to the Jim Crow Laws, but because of the discrimination and segregation it could have caused towards people who are gay, or assumed to be.
Legislators started and tried to pass the bill in the southern states of Arizona and Kansas but were denied after the large backlash from the public when it made national headlines. The bill was stopped under the reasoning that young voters would see the negative feedback and lean away from the republican party believing that all their legislations were that radical.
The bill was denied late in February by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, who stated that “Religious liberty is a core American and Arizona value. So is non-discrimination.” However, it hasn’t stopped legislators from shelving the measure with plans to try again next year.
While it’s acceptable for everyone to support their own beliefs, it’s important to realize that it’s morally wrong to support what could negatively affect the lives of others. What we also must realize is that we need to avoid discrimination against the groups that propose bills and laws, because in that situation both sides would be wrong. Typically the bad usually outweighs the good, and the groups that proposed this law have given the parties they support a bad image by doing so, even if the rest of their parties don’t reflect the same ideas and beliefs.
Tolerance and acceptance of others and their practices is a key role in society for the human race to get along and live together peacefully. Many wars were, and still are, being fought because of people who don’t agree with each other and can’t see eye to eye on numerous issues. However, this doesn’t solve anything. The end goal for humanity should be to be completely happy and at peace with those around you.