HB2802 is a sign of progress for LGBTQ+, but religious exemptions could have "terrifying" implications – Arizona Mirror

The United States has made immense societal and cultural progress towards combating discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community.

And, as parents of LGBTQ+ kids, we do feel that our kids live in a fundamentally safer, more accepting country for them than in the country we grew up in. As we continue our work to move our cities, counties, states, and country forward, we must do so in a way that protects our progress and does not take three steps backward to take one step forward.

We are grateful for the good-faith efforts made to create House Bill 2802. It is a welcome sign of societal progress that a bill containing some LGBTQ+ protections exists. Because this bill carries non-discrimination language for our most vulnerable, it must be carefully questioned and reviewed to ensure that ultimately it will result in a safer future for our children.

At issue are the exemptions written in the bill for religious institutions. As the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said in their press release, (The) bill preserves the religious rights of individuals and communities of faith while protecting the rights of members of the LGBTQ community, consistent with the principles of fairness for all.

Fairness is a word that is often used with great flexibility. To be clear, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is saying it would be fair to allow religious institutions to still practice conversion therapy and to discriminate without impunity or consequences.

This bill, and the exemptions therein, carries the language and room to become more than simply a carve out for Arizonas religious institutions. The consequences, unintended and intended, are far greater, and grave to the well-being and future of our children.

This bill could quickly take hold in state legislatures across the country as the model bill because of its loose and permissive language regarding discrimination on the basis of religion. Should it be signed into law, it has the potential to be used to build out case law that expands the defined religious exemptions creating a perfect legal environment to allow cases like Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission to be everyday practice.

As parents raising LGBTQ+ children, this prospect is terrifying to us. The short-term progress this bill claims to make is absolutely not worth the unaddressed long-term ramifications poised to corrode American created LGBTQ+ protections and send society backwards swiftly.

We, as parents and protectors of our children who are LGBTQ+, are forced to oppose HB2802. We must do better for our children.

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HB2802 is a sign of progress for LGBTQ+, but religious exemptions could have "terrifying" implications - Arizona Mirror