EDGE Providence

As the debate over Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070 continues to rage, a myriad of LGBT organizations and activists have come together to demand action under a unified "Boycott Arizona" banner.

The National Council of La Raza, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the Human Rights Campaign are among the more than two dozen groups that have expressed their support of the boycott in their opposition to SB 1070.

Arizona Progress, an online communication hub for Arizona progressives, said it is important for the LGBT community to oppose SB 1070 because "the gay community cannot make advances in LGBT civil rights alone-we have to start being better allies for other concerns."

"We have much more in common with issues like immigration, race relations and education than people realize," said Barbara McCullough-Jones, executive director of Arizona Progress. "Once we realize the natural intersections that exist we will be better advocates for other social justice movements and we will discover we have many more allies than first thought."

The state’s five key races this November are those for governor, secretary of state, treasurer, school superintendent and attorney general. All 90 legislative seats are up for grabs as well, and McCullough-Jones said SB 1070 supporters and other social conservatives could control the state’s government.

"God help us all if that happens," she added. "They won’t stop with Arizona. They are a huge machine backed by the likes of Karl Rove and the Mormon Church."

From Arizona to Capitol Hill
The Task Force continues to urge Congress to pass the Uniting American Families Act, which would end discrimination against bi-national same-sex couples and their families.

"U.S. immigration policy is supposed to be based on the principle of bringing and keeping families together, but the system is broken," said Rea Carey, executive director of the Task Force. "Instead of unification, the policy often results in painful separation of loved ones. This must change."

According to Carey, the United States has 12 million undocumented immigrants, including at least half a million who are LGBT. "Thousands of bi-national same-sex couples and their families have been kept separated or forced to live abroad," she said. "This discriminatory practice is unfair and inhumane. No one should ever have to choose between their partner and their country or be denied the freedom to be with their families. UAFA is consistent with U.S. immigration law’s existing policy of keeping families intact."

Organizing against SB 1070
Darlene Nipper, deputy executive director of the Task Force, further discussed her organization’s work in the Grand Canyon State. These efforts include the recruitment of volunteers to work alongside Promise Arizona staff to register Arizonans to vote.

"The goal of this effort is to get the nearly 500,000 eligible unregistered African American, Latino and youth voters in Arizona registered so that they can turn the tide in Arizona this fall," noted Nipper

Nipper added the Task Force will continue its efforts at the federal level in support of comprehensive immigration reform "because we need humane detention standards, a path to citizenship for undocumented people, asylum for those persecuted because of sexual orientation or gender identity, and family unification of the estimated 36,000 bi-national couples who cannot live together in this country because federal law bans recognition of their relationships."

"Immigration reform is a national issue; it is an LGBT issue," she said.

Out and Equal Workplace Advocates is another LGBT organization that continues to speak out against SB 1070. Stanley Ellicott, the group’s communication project manager, said an estimated 17,000 children in this country are raised by LGBT parents in a bi-national families. And he further indicated those children face the very "real possibility of losing a parent, or leaving the only country they have ever called home."

"This is a significant issue for our community’s families - and it is also a significant issue for those employers operating internationally who recognize the value of developing their talented LGBT employees," added Ellicott. "Barriers to immigration on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity interfere with a business’ ability to deploy and develop employees. They have nothing to do with business strategy or an individual’s capabilities, and represent a cost both to the employer and to employees."

"Immigration reform that does not address discrimination against LGBT couples is a clear concern for Out & Equal and its constituents," he said.

Governor Jan Brewer, who also stripped away health insurance benefits for same-sex domestic partners of state employees, signed SB 1070 into law in late April. Portions of the measure took effect on July 29, but U.S District Court Judge Susan Bolton struck down SB 1070’s most controversial provisions-including the requirement an officer must make a reasonable attempt to determine the immigration status of a person stopped, detained or arrested if there is reasonable suspicion he or she are in the country illegally and the creation of a crime for failure to apply for or carry so-called alien registration papers-in an 11th hour ruling.

Calls to boycott Arizona continue
Phoenix’s Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce urged national LGBT rights groups last month not to boycott the state over SB 1070, saying such an action would hurt gay-friendly businesses.

"We understand that Arizonans stand on many sides of this issue," said the Task Force in a statement regarding a boycott of the state. "We have taken a principled stand that we believe is just as important to LGBT people as it is to Latinos and immigrants. The nature of our boycott is also quite limited. We encourage Arizona residents and visitors to patronize businesses that have supported the LGBT community and that are engaged in opposing SB 1070."