Wiesenthal Center to Arizona Governor: Veto Gay Discrimination Bill

Center says denying services to people based on their sexuality, "hearkens back the dark history of American racial,religious and sexual discrimination and threatens the hard earned civil rights of all Americans"

The Simon Wiesenthal Center today called on Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (pictured) to veto that state's proposed law that would allow businesses to refuse to service gaycustomers.

"To classify and deny services to any group of people based on their sexuality is an act of discrimination that hearkens back tothe dark history of American racial, religious and sexual discrimination and threatens the hard earned civil rights of all Americans," said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the Associate Deanof the Wiesenthal Center, and Mark Weitzman, the Center's Director of Government Affairs.

"The protection of the right of Americans to their religious commitment is a core American value; however that value must not beused as a justification for unequal treatment in the public sphere," Cooper and Weitzman continued.
"We urge Governor Brewer to veto this bill and to protect the rights of all Americans to fair and equal treatment," theyconcluded.

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The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 memberfamilies in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin AmericanParliament (Parlatino).