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Written by Lisa Neff, Staff writer
Jun 17, 2010
An overwhelming majority of LGBT people oppose the controversial immigration statute set to take effect in late July in Arizona.
A survey from Harris Interactive found 63 percent of LGBT people polled oppose the Arizona legislation compared with other polls showing six out of 10 heterosexuals support the measure.
And a recent joint statement indicates that more than 20 LGBT groups are in-step with the LGBT population. The statement denounced Arizona Senate Bill 1070, signed into law by Gov. Jan Brewer, as racially divisive, discriminatory and extremist.
“S.B. 1070 essentially declares an entire class of people to be inherently criminal on the basis of their race and appearance,” read a statement from a coalition that includes National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Human Rights Campaign, National Black Justice Coalition, National Minority AIDS Council, Lambda Legal, Gay Men’s Health Crisis, National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and others. “The consequences of S.B. 1070 are grave and troubling: the inevitability of racial profiling and infringement of civil liberties; the strong probability of violence and harassment against individuals and their families; and the reversal of progress toward creating a more inclusive society.”
A fact sheet from the Arizona Legislature stated the measure, the most stringent immigration law in the nation, “requires officials and agencies of the state and political subdivisions to fully comply with and assist in the enforcement of federal immigration laws and gives county attorneys subpoena power in certain investigations of employers; establishes crimes involving trespassing by illegal aliens, stopping to hire or soliciting work under specified circumstances, and transporting, harboring or concealing unlawful aliens and their respective penalties.”
In practice, the law would make the failure to carry immigration documents a crime and give the police broad power to detain anyone suspected of being in the country illegally.
Many LGBT groups in early June joined a broader coalition of organizations – ranging from Service Employees International Union to the Asian American Justice Center to the National Puerto Rican Coalition – in a boycott against Arizona. The boycott will end when the law is repealed.
“We are united in our determination to stand for political and legislative change that will ensure just treatment of immigrants, people of color and all people in Arizona,” the LGBT statement read. “Such justice requires the repeal of S.B. 1070 and the passage and implementation of comprehensive federal immigration reform.”
In the Harris poll, 43 percent of LGBT respondents said they are now less likely to vacation in Arizona and 36 percent said they are now less likely to attend a convention in the state.
