Note: Will Durst is a comedian and you may find some of his material offensive, or worse, not funny. His views do not necessarily reflect those of KALW.
Hey guys,
Will Durst here with a few choice words about Arizona governor Jan Brewer vetoing SB 1062, the legislation giving legal cover to businesses denying services based on the operator's religious beliefs. Yes indeed, the bigot bill went down. And the disappointment rumbling through the Evangelical community has caused snakes to be mishandled all the way to Tennessee.
Give the lady credit, she hemmed, she hawed, she deliberated, she took her time like a molasses covered snail going uphill against the wind, but did the right thing for all the wrong reasons. It was the threat of a statewide economic boycott - including the possibility of losing another Super Bowl - that did the trick. Once again, money trumps religion. And of course, if those darn liberals hadn't put up such a loud stink, she would have signed the bill so fast it would have made a roadrunner's head spin.
You'd think that vetoing a bill sanctioning discrimination would be a no-brainer, but that situation has never stopped Arizona before. This is the state that refused to recognize Martin Luther King's birthday, and still allows police to stop anybody with a tan on both their arms. It appears that AZ, the postal abbreviation for the Grand Canyon state, stands for 'angry xenophobes.' Yeah, xenophobe is spelled with an 'X', but it's doubtful that the intolerant, ignorant denizens of Arizona know that.
Also doubtful that Arizona legislators are aware that there are religions other than Christianity, because depending on the faith of the business owner, this bill would have allowed people to refuse service not just for sexual orientation, but sporting nail polish, eating shellfish, or fastening their pants with zippers. Wearing a hat, or not wearing a hat. You'd have to take a urine test every time you dropped something off at the dry cleaners.
Arizona. It's not the hate, it's the stupidity.