Governor Brewer vetoes S.B. 1062

300px_JanBrewer_CityBckgrd_2013_MDPHOENIX – Jan Brewer, Governor of Arizona, announced her decision to veto the controversial Arizona S.B. 1062.

In her statement released on the Governor’s web site, she wrote:

I took the time necessary to make the RIGHT decision. I met or spoke with my attorneys, lawmakers and citizens supporting and opposing this legislation.

As Governor, I have protected religious freedoms when there is a specific and present concern that exists in OUR state.

And I have the record to prove it.

She said that the bill does not address specific current concerns of the State. “I have not heard of one example in Arizona where a business owner’s religious liberty has been violated,” she said. In her veto letter, she wrote:

The concerns raised by the proponents of this bill are not unfounded. As a result of actions taken by the Obama Administration, as well as some federal and out-of-state courts, I am increasingly concerned about government’s encroachment upon our religious freedom.

In a later paragraph she notes,

Senate Bill 1062, however, does not seek to address a specific and present concern related to Arizona businesses. The out-of-state examples cited by proponents of the bill, while concerning, are issues not currently existing in Arizona.

She stated that she recognizes that religious belief about marriage is being challenged as never before. The Senate bill, she feels, had the potential to create more problems than it would solve.

Ariz. Governor Signs Bill to Allow Bible Classes in Public Schools

By Michael Gryboski , Christian Post Reporter

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has signed into law a bill that allows the establishing of elective classes that focus on the Bible and its influence on western civilization.

Sponsored by State Representative Terri Proud, House Bill 2563 was passed by a 21 to 9 vote in the state Senate last Thursday and signed by Brewer on Tuesday.

According to HB 2563, “A school district or charter school may offer an elective course pertaining to how the Bible has influenced western culture for pupils in grades nine through twelve.”

“A teacher who instructs a course offered under this section in its appropriate historical context and in good faith shall be immune from civil liability and disciplinary action,” reads the bill.

Read more at the Christian Post

Obama amnesty runs into a road block in Arizona — Governor Brewer

PHOENIX—Once again Governor Jan Brewer is shaking a finger at the Obama administration. Governor Brewer signed an executive order enforcing Arizona law preventing illegal aliens from receiving government benefits and driver’s licenses.

The blanket amnesty by the decree of the current administration bypasses Congress and violates the separation of powers and the Constitution of the United States.

Executive order 2012-06 states, “The issuance of Deferred Action or Deferred Action USCIS employment authorization documents to unlawfully present aliens does not confer upon them any lawful or authorize status and does not entitle them to any additional public benefit.”

Title 8, Section 1622, according the the EO, authorizes States to determine the eligibility of government benefits to various class of aliens residing in the State. Section 1621 of that Title provides that aliens unlawfully in the United States are not eligible for and State or local public benefit.

This “Deferred Action” program does not give illegals legal status.

The EO cites Arizona Revised Statute 1-501 and 1-502 limiting public benefits to legal residents of the State of Arizona and 283153 prohibiting the Arizona Department of Transportation from issuing driver’s licenses or identifications to persons unless they can demonstrate a lawful presence in the U.S.

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