The group behind a vetoed religious freedom law intends to use Monday’s Supreme Court ruling as a chance to revamp it and try again next year. Arizona Public Radio’s Howard Fischer explains.
SB 1062 would have expanded the right of individuals to refuse to obey certain laws based on their sincerely held religious beliefs. It also would have extended that right to corporations. Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed the legislation, saying there was no evidence of any problem in Arizona that needed to be addressed. But, Cathi Herrod of the Center for Arizona Policy, which crafted the measure, said the Hobby Lobby ruling shows things are not necessarily that black and white.
“Obviously, over the next six months or whatever, many legal scholars will be analyzing the opinion, looking at the nuances of the opinion. We will be doing the same to see are there any indications from the opinion that would apply to Arizona law where parts of the opinion should be codified in Arizona law,” said Herrod.
One issue is that question of extending religious rights to corporations as SB 1062 sought to do. The high court did not go that far, applying its ruling only to closely held corporations where the family owns all the stock. Herrod said she’s not sure where the line on some new version of SB 1062 should be drawn.
“That’s a decision that needs to be made as we really closely analyze the opinion. We just don’t know yet what would make sense on that or what needs to happen,” she said.
