At this point you have to strongly suspect the Arizona-style attempts to "protect" bigots by allowing them to discriminate against gay Americans
are harming the pro-discrimination side more than helping it.
State Sen. Steve Gallardo, D-Phoenix, disclosed he is gay at a news conference Wednesday morning, saying the furor over Senate Bill 1062 prompted his decision to go public.
“Two weeks ago was a difference, Feb. 19 was an actual game changer,” Gallardo told a select group of reporters, referring to the date the Senate debated and passed SB 1062. [...]
“I am gay, I’m a Latino, I’m a state senator and it’s OK,” he said.
So Gallardo would likely have not come out if it were not for the rottenness of SB 1062. He felt he had to, and now all of Arizona is going to be exposed to yet another perfectly reasonable person they have known for a long time who just happens to be gay. And they're going to see that yes, he's the same person he always was. And they're going to wonder again why it is that people are spending
so much time trying to figure out how to punish people like Steve Gallardo for no clear reason other than to make themselves feel better.
I have to think that's not a winning hand, on the part of the pro-discrimination forces. One of the two sides looks eminently more reasonable and more responsible than the other, here, and it ain't the folks complaining that if they can't deny people flowers and cakes and cheeseburgers because Jesus then blah blah end of civilization blah blah think of the children blah blah Hitler.