Bill is against Methodist beliefs
Early Friday, Robert T. Hoshibata, Resident Bishop of the Desert Southwest Conference of the United Methodist Church, sent a note to about 212 active and retired clergy in Arizona and southern Nevada asking them to reach out to Brewer voicing opposition to the bill.
“Our laws reflect how we value people. If the laws of Arizona that we value some and don’t value others, that’s outside of what we United Methodists Believe. In the letter, I quoted a very short portion of our Book of Discipline. It’s a book of laws that guide our work together as a denomination.
“‘We affirm all persons as equally valuable in the sight of God. We therefor we work toward societies in which each person’s value is recognized, maintained, and strengthened.’”
Legislators have “no shame”
“It’s one of the worst bills passed in state history,” said Rev. Dr. John C. Dorhauer of the United Church of Christ, which has ordained gay men and women as priests since 1972, and routinely performs gay marriages.
“It’s state-sanctioned discrimination,” Dorhauer said. “We will identify the legislators who voted for this and take public action.”
When asked if they were going to publicly shame the lawmakers, Dorhauer, who is the president of the Arizona Ecumenical Council, said “I am not sure if shame would have any impact on them. If they had any shame at all they wouldn’t have passed this legislation.”
Bad for faith communities
“Many people already assume that church folk are narrow, bigoted people who judge and discriminate against others,” Doug Bland, pastor of the Community Christian Church of Tempe and an executive board member of the Arizona Ecumenical Council. “Unfortunately, SB1062 protects our right to hate and discriminate. It’s bad for Arizona and bad for communities of faith.”
http://www.azcentral.com/news/politics/articles/20140221arizona-religion-law-reactions.html
And that's just in Arizona.
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