Matthew Dowd, former chief strategist
for President George W. Bush, on Sunday described a bill in Arizona
as using religion to discriminate against gays.
The measure, which
states that individuals and businesses can refuse service based on
their religious beliefs, cleared the Senate on Wednesday and the
House the following day. Calling the measure “controversial,”
Republican Governor Jan Brewer said she will decide whether to sign
the bill next week.
Opponents of the
measure say it would allow individuals and businesses to discriminate
against gays.
(Related:
Hundreds
rally against Arizona bill allowing businesses to discriminate
against gays.)
ABC
News This Week host
Martha Raddatz asked Dowd to predict whether Brewer would sign the
bill into law.
“I think, in the
end, Governor Brewer is probably going to veto this because it seems
like an easy veto for her to do because of everything that's going on
in the business economy there,” Dowd answered.
“This is one of
those problems when people use religion as a way to sort of enforce
discriminatory practices. People used religion back in the 1860s
when they defended slavery. They used religion to defend slavery,”
he emphasized.
“We've
used religion to go to war. People have criticized Islam because
they use religion to fight people and kill people.” Dowd added.
(The video is embedded on this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)