Oh Great, Arizona. Now George Takei is Pissed Off. [View all]

[Ptah]

We have seen a number of people voicing their opinions against SB 1062. George Takei,
Star Trek legend and LGBT activist, wrote an open letter to Arizona to expressing his
disappointment regarding the anti-gay legislation that's pending Governor Jan Brewer's
decision. Takei promises to never step foot or spend any money in Arizona if the
Governor signs the bill into law.

From his Takei's website:

Dear Arizona,

Congratulations. You are now the first state actually to pass a bill permitting
businesses—even those open to the public—to refuse to provide service to LGBT
people based on an individual’s “sincerely held religious belief.” This “turn away the
gay” bill enshrines discrimination into the law. Your taxi drivers can refuse to carry
us. Your hotels can refuse to house us. And your restaurants can refuse to serve us.

Kansas tried to pass a similar law, but had the good sense to not let it come up
for a vote. The quashing came only after the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and
other traditional conservative groups came out strongly against the bill.

But not you, Arizona. You’re willing to ostracize and marginalize LGBT people to
score political points with the extreme right of the Republican Party. You say this bill
protects “religious freedom,” but no one is fooled. When I was younger, people used
“God’s Will” as a reason to keep the races separate, too. Make no mistake, this is
the new segregation, yours is a Jim Crow law, and you are about to make yourself ground zero.

http://www.tucsonweekly.com/TheRange/archives/2014/02/22/oh-great-arizona-now-george-takei-is-pissed-off