Religious leaders thank Gov. Jan Brewer for SB 1062 veto

PHOENIX — Religious leaders who opposed Senate Bill 1062 showed up at the Arizona State Capitol Tuesday to thanks Gov. Jan Brewer for vetoing it.

Brewer could not meet with them, but members of the Universalist Church and the United Church of Christ brought a letter to her office to show gratitude for rejecting the bill.

The Rev. James Pennington of the United Church of Christ said that over 200 people signed the letter.

“We’re here to thank Jan Brewer for vetoing this,” he said. “We’ve gathered numerous signatures at a higher level from the Unitarian and the United Church of Christ to thank her and just be grateful.”

Another church official echoed Pennington’s sentiments.

“We really wanted to make it clear that not all folks who are spiritual and religious and from a variety of backgrounds really would want discrimination written in on a religious level,” said Paul Mitchell, executive director of the Universalist Church.

The letter also thanked all of the state lawmakers who voted against the bill. The last sentence of the letter reads “May the long nightmare of Arizona as a state that legally sanctions discrimination and oppression finally come to an end.”