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| Left: Edwin Leslie; Right: AZ Gov. Brewer berating President Obama |
Below, the complete text of Edwin Leslie's resignation letter from the Arizona Tourism Council, citing Gov. Brewer's prompting of Arizona's Attorney General to ask the US Supreme Court to let the state implement a 2009 law (so far ruled discriminatory by federal courts) which restricts spousal benefits to only heterosexually-married workers.
Governor Brewer,
It is with sincere regret that I today announce my immediate resignation as your appointee to the State of Arizona Tourism Advisory Council.
On July 3, 2012 you released your official statement on our States celebration of Independence Day, your quote ““For more than two centuries, citizens of this great country have been blessed with liberties and inalienable rights that make us truly and uniquely American. Over the coming days, let us take the opportunity to reflect on these freedoms – paying special tribute to our founders, whose courage and wisdom transformed sovereignty from vision to reality”
However, your actions taken on July 8, 2012 in determining to seek the Supreme Courts intervention in the State of Arizona’s duty to provide same sex domestic partners with insurance and other benefits are in direct conflict with your reiteration that all Americans are entitled to the same “inalienable rights”.
As a member of the Arizona Tourism Advisory Board it is my responsibility to remind you that your actions are contrary to those needed to ensure the success of the Tourism industry in Arizona. The State of Arizona derives considerable revenues from Tourism and considerable revenues from LGBT community members that visit our great State. Your actions discriminate against one part of the State’s residents to appease a small fraction of the population. Arizona residents by and large are supportive of LGBT equality. A recent PPP poll found that 77 percent of Arizona voters support either full marriage equality or civil unions. 83 percent of independents in the state support marriage or civil unions, along with 63 percent of Republicans. The tourism industry is critical to the State’s economy. I urge you to put aside the politics and act responsibly in favor of the this critical part of our economy.
Business, politics and the economy aside, my decision to resign the Tourism Council is rooted in the fiber of my conscience. The LGBT community, of which I am a proud part, deserves all of the same rights, privileges and liberties as every American, be it in domestic partner benefits, adoption, marriage or any other rights that are so freely enjoyed by every other person in the US. It is my hope that one day The State of Arizona leads the nation in extending benefits to LGBT families, allowing same sex marriage and adoption, and show that everyone is welcome in Arizona.
In your statement of July 3, 2012 you stated “I encourage you, amid your Independence Day festivities, to take an opportunity to re-read the Declaration and to recognize why we celebrate this day every year. I am hopeful that you never take for granted this document nor its promise and purpose.” However, you seem to ignore Jefferson’s most important words:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Please accept this as my official resignation as your appointee to the Arizona Tourism Advisory Council representing Maricopa County effective immediately.
With Regrets
Edwin W. Leslie
Cc: Sherry Henry Director Arizona Office of Tourism 1110 W. Washington Street, Suite 155 Phoenix, AZ 85007
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