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In addition to protests at the state Capitol over Arizona’s Senate Bill 1062, activists have now taken to the office of the lobbying group that developed and pushed the bill, the Center for Arizona Policy.
Citizens for a Better Arizona led a delegation of people to CAP’s Phoenix office today, to demand a formal apology from the organization’s president, Cathi Herrod.
“If you follow the puppeteer’s strings, they go right to this building, and to one person — Cathi Herrod,” said Beto Soto, of Citizens for a Better Arizona.
See also:
–See the Other Laws Being Pushed by the Force Behind Arizona’s SB 1062
Not only do people fear that this is genuinely harmful anti-gay legislation, but it’s also brought yet another black eye to the state and people of Arizona, regardless of whether Governor Jan Brewer ultimately decides to veto the bill.
This afternoon, activists put up red tape in front of the office building that read “closed,” as Soto declared CAP as “incompatible with Arizona values.”
“Arizona right now overwhelmingly supports the LGBT community,” Soto said, as he promised another protest at the office tomorrow at 1 p.m.
The activists also typed up an apology letter for Herrod, and planned to ask her to sign the letter, which apologizes for bringing shame to the state.
Security guards didn’t let anyone past the front door.
The Center for Arizona Policy, a Christian Right group, has only gotten stronger in Arizona in recent years. The group boasts that 123 of its bills have become laws since 1995. Just last year, nine of its supported bills were signed into law, and three were vetoed — including this same “religious freedom.”
The organization also worked to kill an anti-bullying bill out of a fear that it was designed to protect gay children.
This session, CAP is also pushing bills to strengthen anti-assisted suicide laws, expanded tax exemptions for churches, and the ability for the state to inspect abortion clinics without a warrant.
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