Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday,
in response to a question about Arizona's okay-to-discriminate bill, that "I'm counting on the governor—I cannot imagine how that law would withstand the scrutiny of the Supreme Court of the United States. So I would hope that she'll make the right decision."
Why is the secretary of state, whose area is foreign policy, being asked about a state bill? Because Kerry said the United States would review its relationship with Uganda because of that country's anti-gay laws, so it's actually not crazy to ask him how anti-gay legislation in the states affects America's moral standing on this issue. Despite his stated view that the Arizona law would not hold up in court, Kerry did draw a strong distinction between Arizona and Uganda:
This has not been an easy path in the United States. But what's important is we're on the path, we're staying steady, we've made enormous progress in the United States, and we will stand up for people's rights anywhere in the world because that's who we are in the United States of America.
I think this law in Uganda—the notion that for somebody being gay, they would be thrown into jail for 14 years or otherwise punished in other ways—is disgraceful.
The distinction is fair, but how embarrassing that we should be having to draw it to begin with.
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