An Open Letter to Gov. Jan Brewer On Senate Bill 1062

Dear Gov. Brewer,

I, like many in this country and across the world, am watching Arizona intently to see whether or not you choose to veto SB1062. This may seem like an issue that impacts only your state, but it truly has a global impact and I feel called to reach out to you.

To let you know where I am coming from, Governor Brewer, here is some background. I am a social

worker working with folks who are trying to get back on their feet and live as responsible and productive citizens. I do this work because, like you, I love this country and believe this country can be a better place. I also do this work because I am a Christian who takes her religious teachings seriously. On Sundays, I teach Church school, and talk with elementary schoolers about what it means to live as followers of Christ. I am in a loving relationship with a wonderful individual, who is working in poverty alleviation because, like you, she believes this country and this world can be better.

I come from a loving Christian family, like many Arizona families. At one point, though, I felt very far from Christ. You see, Governor Brewer, I am a lesbian in a loving relationship with another woman. There was a point where I wanted so much to be who it was God made me to be and I was so afraid that who I was was wrong. I was afraid I was wrong because laws around me said that people like me were threats to religion and Christ who had to be protected against. Because of these laws, I stayed quiet in pain for years. Fortunately, I have come to find a life and a life in Christ that embraces me for who I am and allows me to work on making this country better.

Governor Brewer, SB1062 will not benefit or protect your state. What it will do instead is make children feel that they are bad or wrong for being exactly who they were created to be. It will tell them that they are threats to be feared and legislated against. It will stifle wonderful children who could grow to better your state, this country, and this world. I speak from experience, as one of those children. I urge you to do what is right for Arizona, for kids who will grow up to love someone of the same gender, and for this country by vetoing SB1062.

Respectfully,

"Marie"

You too can contact Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and ask her, as a person of faith, to veto anti-LGBTQ bill SB1062. You can contact Governor Brewer through this link: http://www.azgovernor.gov/Contact.asp


Marie is an Episcopalian and a social worker from Massachusetts who is constantly being challenged by her faith and career to expand her notions of community. In her spare time, she can be found doing yoga, semi-successfully learning needle point, and dreaming about cat ownership.

Segregation in the Guise of Religious Freedom

It seems to me that at the core of all the major world religions is the principle of compassion. Yet we humans have funny ways of showing that compassion to those with whom we disagree. Fundamentalists of every faith seem to turn away from the fundamental of compassion to its opposite, legalism and judgmentalism.  In this country we are seeing a marriage of both Catholicism and evangelicalism with right-wing politics, an unholy alliance which came into being in the 1970s and continues to be supported by right-wing political organizations fueled by fear of lesbian, gay and transgender inclusion. The newest manifestation of this is the proliferation of “Religious Freedom Restoration Acts” being introduced in state legislatures around the country.

These acts seem to be benign attempts to make sure that everyone has freedom of religion but in fact they are thinly disguised attacks on the LGBT community. The attempt in Kansas was quickly brought up short, but Arizona’s more draconian bill has made it through both House and Senate and will likely be signed into law by the governor in the next week.  This would allow anyone to use religious conscience as a reason to refuse service of any kind to anyone. (I encourage you to sign a petition asking the governor to veto it.)

Since 1976 The Episcopal Church has been committed to fighting discrimination against LGBT people, and we need to continue this work wherever discrimination surfaces.  The Very Rev Troy Mendez of Trinity Cathedral, Phoenix urges us to see this work in the context of Jesus’ call for us to be peacemakers in his statement issued jointly with the Right Rev Kirk Smith, Bishop of the Diocese of Arizona.

We LGBTQ folk, our loved ones, and allies have a right to be angry that these laws are being introduced apparently to promote freedom but actually to introduce a new form of apartheid. We are right to be angry about this concerted backlash against the increasing freedom we are enjoying federally and in some states. But if our anger fuels our hatred against those who are acting out of fear and ignorance, then they have won. If our anger leads us to turn away from involvement in public life, disengaging in disgust from a process that seeks to exclude us, then they have won.

Jesus gave us the supreme example of non-violent resistance. So, as his followers let us be fired by our anger to take action but action which continues to recognize that even those who seek to exclude us are also beloved of God.  Please take note of the bills being introduced to the legislature in your state and start working now to make sure that, as in Kansas, they are defeated by the pressure of public opinion.

Our work is not done until we have created a world where compassion underlies every action.

The Rev. Dr. Caroline Hall is the President of Integrity and author of A Thorn in the Flesh: How Gay Sexuality is Changing the Episcopal Church.