Gov. Jan Brewer Has The Arizona Sadz

"In 2008, Arizona voters approved a state constitutional amendment to define marriage as a union of one man and one woman. Now, with their rulings, the federal courts have again thwarted the will of the people and further eroded the authority of states to regulate and uphold our laws.

"It is not only disappointing, but also deeply troubling, that unelected federal judges can dictate the laws of individual states, create rights based on their personal policy preferences and supplant the will of the people in an area traditionally left to the states for more than two hundred years.

"As Justice Scalia opined, such action is tantamount to 'an ssertion of judicial supremacy over the people’ and is an image of the judiciary 'that would have be en unrecognizable to those who wrote and ratified our national charter.' Simply put, courts should not be in the business of making and changing laws based on their personal agendas.

"It is not the role of the judiciary to determine that same-sex marriages should be allowed. Historically and traditionally, that power belongs to the states, and to the people. If society wants to recognize same-sex marriage or civil unions, that decision should be made through our elected representatives or at the ballot – not the courts." - Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, via press release.

ARIZONA: Attorney General Concedes Ninth Circuit Marriage Ruling Applies

Via Arizona Central:

The fate of Arizona's law defining marriage as between only a man and a woman rests on a ruling from U.S. District Court Judge John Sedwick, and a decision from Attorney General Tom Horne as to whether he will comply or continue to fight as similar laws around the country fall. Sedwick gave the parties in two lawsuits challenging Arizona's law a week to file arguments convincing him why the ruling should or should not apply to Arizona. Today was the deadline. The Arizona-based Christian legal group Alliance Defending Freedom has been representing the state for free in the two marriage cases. But Horne's office filed the arguments. The state's brief argument concedes that the 9th Circuit ruling would apply to Arizona, but says Sedwick should wait to issue his ruling until the 9th Circuit issues a mandate. The mandate is essentially a technical document telling the courts to go forward with the opinion. The 9th Circuit issued a mandate within hours of its original ruling but withdrew it so Idaho could appeal. That appeal is concluded but the 9th Circuit has not yet reissued the mandate.

So if things go as they have lately, we'll get the ruling, Horne will ask the Ninth for an emergency stay pending an en banc review, then ask SCOTUS for a stay pending an appeal to them.

ARIZONA: No Third Term For Gov. Brewer

The Arizona constitution limits governors to two consecutive terms, but Brewer has long talked about challenging that law in court because she first assumed office without election upon the appointment of former Gov. Janet Napolitano to the Obama cabinet. Via Arizona Central:

Gov. Jan Brewer announced Wednesday she will not seek another term in office, an effort that would have required a long-shot court challenge to the state’s term limits. “There does come a time to pass the torch of leadership,” Arizona’s Republican governor said. “After completing this year in office, I will do just that.”The long-awaited decision clears the way for Republican gubernatorial candidates to run for the seat during the 2014 midterm election, without her complicating the field. With Brewer on her way out, the 2014 race will be wide open for the first time since 2002, when Democrat Janet Napolitano went head to head with Republican Matt Salmon and independent Richard Mahoney. Many of the GOP candidates have anticipated she would not try to challenge the state Constitution to run for another term but did not publicly count her out until she made an announcement.

Now begins the speculation about Brewer running for Congress.

CPAC Teabagger Photoshop Selfie

HomoQuotable - Dan Savage

"Here's a suggestion for all the hatey, butt-sore, anti-gay bakers in Arizona: start an organization—The Arizona Association of Homophobic Bakers—and publicly identify yourselves as homophobic bakers. Put up a website with a list of bakeries that don't want to do business with LGBT people. Put signs in your windows that clearly state that gay and lesbian customers are not welcome and will be turned away. As Anderson Cooper pointed out earlier this week, gays and lesbians are not covered by existing anti-discrimination law in Arizona. So it's perfectly legal right now for bakers—and florists and caterers and photographers—to discriminate against LGBT customers. Discriminating against LGBT people was legal in Arizona before Jan Brewer vetoed the turn-away-the-gays bill, and it remains legal after her veto. So homophobic bakers who identify themselves as haters and bigots run no legal risk. They can't be sued by the individual gay people they discriminate against and the authorities can't fine 'em or shut 'em down. Don't want gay customers? Great. Let us know who you are. Put up a list online, hang signs in your windows, and we will take our business elsewhere." - Dan Savage, writing for the Stranger.

White House Applauds AZ Veto

Just a little more fuel for the outrage bonfire. Via The Hill:

The White House said Friday it supports Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's decision to veto a bill that would have allowed businesses to deny service to gay and lesbian customers. "The president does believe that Gov. Brewer did the right thing by vetoing this bill," Carney said. On Wednesday, Brewer announced that she would veto the bill, which narrowly passed the state legislature. "I call them as I see them, despite the cheers or the boos from the crowd," Brewer said in a statement, adding the legislation "could result in unintended and negative consequences."

Porno Pete Has The Arizona Sadz

"Few Americans realize how decades of court-imposed favored legal status for homosexuality have already stolen away our 'freedom to be moral.' Tragically, America is far down the road of 'Criminalizing Christianity' or, more accurately, Judeo-Christian morality—thanks to Big Gay Inc and its powerful allies in the courts, media and academia. But what is most amazing about this Culture War battle is how homosexual activists still manage to play the victim even as more and more Americans become Real Victims of the LGBT agenda—which, at its core, is about enforcing PRO-homosexual discrimination through the State and big corporations." - Porno Pete LaBarbera, writing for Matt Barber's Barbwire.

From The Miami Herald

(Via JMG reader TJ)

Homocon Radio Shrieker Tammy Bruce: The Gay Gestapo Bullied Jan Brewer

"As a gay conservative woman, I supported Arizona’s religious freedom bill, which was just vetoed this week by Gov. Jan Brewer. I supported it because it embodied the values every American civil rights movement stood for: the freedom to live our lives without being punished for who we are. In this case, it was a bill making sure people of faith would not be forced to violate their religious beliefs in the event someone demanded they do so. Horribly, the gay civil rights movement has morphed into a Gay Gestapo. Its ranks will now do the punishing of those who dare to be different or dissent from the approved leftist dogma. To all the young gays who tweet and email me that this is about 'equality,' how exactly? Forcing someone to do something against their faith has nothing to do with equality for you, has nothing to do with bigotry and has everything to do with a personal, spiritual understanding of right and wrong. In other words, I tell them, not everything is about you." - Homocon radio screamer Tammy Bruce, writing for the far-right Washington Times.

RELATED: Tammy Bruce has a fan in Bryan Fischer. I'm sure she doesn't mind that he would like to see her thrown in prison.

HomoQuotable - Michelangelo Signorile

"Let's not forget that in Arizona, it's still legal to refuse to serve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in your bakery or your photo studio for religious or any other reasons, due in no small part to Jan Brewer's hostility to LGBT rights throughout her tenure. It's legal for a landlord in Arizona to turn away LGBT people. Except in a few Arizona cities with employment protections, it's also legal for an employer to fire someone simply for being queer.

"The backlash against this bill should also be a lesson for national LGBT groups that supported ENDA with dangerous religious exemptions: It looks hypocritical and wrongheaded to support a federal employment nondiscrimination bill that gives exemptions in hiring to some businesses, like hospitals run by religious entities, only to condemn a state bill that, in the name of 'religious freedom,' seeks to exempt businesses from having to serve gays. Could that be one reason that some major LGBT groups were oddly silent when the Arizona bill was passed last week?

"So yes, it's a turning point in the national debate, and that's a big win. But when the NFL threatens to pull the Super Bowl from Arizona simply because the state still hasn't passed a nondiscrimination law protecting LGBT people, then I'll see it as a truly huge victory." - Michelangelo Signorile, writing for the Huffington Post.

Tweet Of The Day - Sally Kohn

Kohn was a Fox News contributor until last fall. Now she's at CNN. Her Wikipedia page currently includes this bizarre hack: "She is the oldest sister of progressive commentator Bill O'Reilly."

Breitbart Has The Arizona Sadz

The article is authored by hate group leader Austin Ruse, who delivered a 2012 CPAC speech in which he denounced the United Nations for opposing the gay death penalty.

McCain Cheers Brewer's Veto

"I appreciate the decision made by Governor Brewer to veto this legislation. I hope that we can now move on from this controversy and assure the American people that everyone is welcome to live, work and enjoy our beautiful State of Arizona." - Sen. John McCain, via press release.

Bryan Fischer: Big Gay Bullies Give Me Arizona Sadz Because I Love Black Men

Yep. Still funny.

LGBT Groups React To Arizona Veto

Human Rights Campaign

With today’s veto, Governor Brewer spared her state from institutional discrimination and economic catastrophe. Make no mistake, there is no better way to doom jobs in a state than by signing license-to-discriminate bills,” said Human Rights Campaign (HRC) President Chad Griffin. “The bipartisan outpouring of opposition to this bill is all the proof you need that this country isn't turning backwards. Governor Brewer did the right thing in stopping this assault on businesses and the LGBT community and we call on her and the legislature--and governors and legislators in other states--to resist any attempt to give license to discrimination.”

The Task Force

"We thank Governor Brewer for her decision to veto this outrageous measure -- a law that if enacted would be bad for Arizona people and the Arizona economy. In doing so, she has stopped a bill that both cynically uses religion as a smokescreen to justify discrimination and insults people of faith who feel that discrimination is morally wrong. This decision sends a clear message that extremism is totally unacceptable to people of all political persuasions."

GetEQUAL

"Governor Jan Brewer stood on the right of history today by vetoing SB 1062. It is clear that this bill would have hurt business, caused unnecessary controversy, and -- most importantly -- increased the suffering of LGBTQ people in Arizona. We are relieved that she has shown leadership and vetoed a bill that is bad for business and bad for the people of Arizona. However, we cannot forget the suffering that some of her other decisions have caused to immigrants, LGBTQ people and women. She signed SB 1070 into the law -- one of the most anti-immigrant laws in the country -- then signed an executive order denying driver's licenses for DREAM Act-eligible youth who received Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA). She has de-funded Planned Parenthood clinics and signed a bill prohibiting abortion after 18 weeks after conception. She has also backed a marriage equality ban in Arizona.

Truth Wins Out

"Gov. Jan Brewer avoided going down in history as ‘Jan Crow’ by wisely vetoing this wolf in sheep’s clothing," said Truth Wins Out's Executive Director Wayne Besen. "If this bill had become law, it would have been a disaster for Arizona's reputation and severely tarnished the governor's legacy. “This was a major defeat for what has become a concerted Hail Mary campaign to carve out special rights for religious conservatives so that they don’t have to play by the same rules as everyone else does,” said Evan Hurst, Truth Wins Out’s Associate Director. “In this new up-is-down world, anti-gay religious folks are ‘practicing their faith’ when they’re baking cakes or renting out hotel rooms to travelers. On the ground, these bills hurt real, live LGBT people.”

ACLU Of Arizona

“Discrimination has no place in Arizona, or anywhere else,” said Alessandra Soler, executive director of the ACLU of Arizona. “We’re grateful that the governor has stopped this disgraceful law from taking effect, and that Arizona will remain open for business to everyone.” The Arizona bill was passed last week following the defeat of similar bills in Maine, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Idaho. “We strongly support the right of every person to exercise their religious beliefs, but religious freedom doesn’t give any of us the right to harm others,” said Eunice Rho, advocacy and policy counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union. “The massive public opposition to this, as well as several other failed bills across the country, shows that Americans of all political persuasions and religions feel the same way.”

GLAAD

"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."

Lambda Legal

“Arizona's recent history has taught corporate and civic leaders that discrimination is terrible for business. This religion bill would have reversed the state's hard-won economic progress by declaring "open season" on LGBT people. Everyone in Arizona deserves respect and inclusion, including same-sex couples and their families, and people of all faiths and backgrounds. Governor Brewer did the right thing with today's veto. May it be a guiding signal for elected leaders across the country considering similar bills.”

Ben Shapiro Has The Arizona Sadz

BREWER VETOES ARIZONA HATE BILL

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer will tonight hold a nationally televised press conference at 7:45PM Eastern. Watch live here.

UPDATE: And the bill is VETOED. 

Limbaugh: Gays Are Bullying Jan Brewer

Ooh, Mysterious

Good grief.

Newt Gingrich: Veto The AZ Hate Bill

Tonight on CNN, Newt Gingrich invited viewers to give their opinion on Arizona's hate bill by tweeting either "sign" or "veto" using the Crossfire hashtag. After reporting that 88% of the CNN audience had tweeted "veto", Gingrich himself did the same.