FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 30, 2023
PHOENIX – The Co-Chairs of the Arizona Legislature's LGBTQ Caucus released the following statements following the Supreme Court's disastrous decision today allowing a religious right to discriminate against LGBTQ Americans and other protected classes.
Co-Chair Oscar De Los Santos, House Member from Phoenix (District 11):
"In a free, fair, and democratic society, we have no room for social castes or second-class citizens. The United States’ greatest promise is equality under the law. But today’s Supreme Court decision undermines that cherished value by pronouncing that LGBT Arizonans can be singled out and denied goods and services at public businesses.
But this decision doesn’t only affect the LGBT community. It also opens the door to racial and religious discrimination. As a result of this decision, a bigoted website designer can refuse to create a website for a Catholic couple and an antisemitic artist can refuse to create invitations to a Bar Mitzvah.
As Democrats, we stand with the vast majority of Arizonans who believe in equality for all."
Co-Chair Patty Contreras, House Member from Phoenix (District 12):
"This decision by the Supreme Court is an ominous step backwards on civil rights for our country, which has been a beacon of freedom for the rest of the world. In its zeal to deny equal rights to the LGBTQ community, the extremists who pursued this lawsuit have opened the door to create a religious right to discriminate against protected classes, and even other religions, under the ironic guise of free speech. Where does it end? This will embolden businesses that want to discriminate, and their discrimination won't just be limited to our community.
Gay marriage is legal in our country. If you are open for business, you should be open for business for all. Taking away hard-won civil rights is a terrible message to send to the world as we celebrate our Independence Day."
