( CNN ) -- Arizona set itself up for yet another self-inflicted political wound , international humiliation , costly boycotts and historical shame now that its legislature has passed a bill giving people the right to discriminate . The bill was written by the Center for Arizona Policy and a Christian legal organization called the Alliance Defending Freedom . They were inspired , in part , by the case of a New Mexico wedding photographer who was taken to court after refusing to shoot a gay commitment ceremony . The bill seeks to shield Christians from members of the lesbian , gay , bisexual and transgender community who dare to seek equal protection under the law . Specifically , the bill protects all individuals , businesses and religious institutions from discrimination lawsuits if they can show that their discriminatory actions were motivated by religious convictions . Under the guise of religious freedom , however , the bill would enable businesses potentially to discriminate against virtually anyone -- not just Jews , Muslims , Sikhs , agnostics and atheists , but also unwed mothers , Rastafarians and Budweiser T-shirt wearers . This bill is arbitrary , capricious and antithetical to the spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood that inform our documents of freedom . It will lead to marginalization and oppression by allowing bigots to deny gay people access to virtually any business or service . The road to Indian genocide , Jim Crow , Japanese-American internment , the Holocaust and other iterations of human persecution began with laws that isolated and dehumanized entire groups of people . Arizona 's race relations and cultural politics are often misunderstood by the rest of the country . Racial diversity and progressivism exist within the predominantly white and conservative power structure of the Grand Canyon State . This has created an interesting dynamic . Arizona has sometimes made racial and cultural inroads ahead of the national curve , while fear of major demographic shifts , including a growing LGBTQ community , and the erosion of white privilege have unearthed racial stereotyping , homophobia and xenophobic policies . Many outside the state misunderstand this dynamic , assuming we are a wholly backward place without understanding that it is much more complicated than that . Nevertheless , Arizona now has the dubious designation as the first state to pass an anti-gay bill that seeks to shun and segregate in the name of religion . Similar legislation has been put forward in Idaho , Mississippi , Ohio , Oklahoma , South Dakota and Tennessee . The Arizona measure is the only bill that has passed . There is a saying : `` history does n't repeat itself , but it rhymes . '' The rhythm of chauvinism and acrimony in Arizona endures . The state long resisted creating a holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr. , which it finally did in 1992 . It is not too late to shift course , however . Gov . Jan Brewer has the power to put Arizona back on the right side of history . The `` right to discriminate '' bill now sits on her desk . The bill passed Thursday , She has five days to reject it or sign it into law . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Matthew C. Whitaker .
Matthew Whitaker : Arizona legislature approved a bill that would allow discrimination . He says the bill shields those who show religion prompts their discrimination . He says bill aimed at LGTB community but could affect many groups . Whitaker : Arizona complicated , not as biased as often depicted .