To all those who have expressed doubts about whether this new law will be applied "to the letter" versus enforced in a less-than-even-handed way by the Great State of Arizona:
How can anyone seriously doubt that Arizona wouldn't act in a proper and sensitive manner when it comes to issues related to race? It's not like it was one of those states that resisted recognizing Martin Luther King's birthday, or anything like that...
From Wikipedia:
<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference">
</sup>
"Sen. John McCain (
Republican of
Arizona) voted against the creation of the holiday to honor King, and later defended Arizona Republican
Governor Evan Mecham's rescission of the state holiday in honor of King created by his Democratic predecessor. After his opposition grew increasingly untenable, McCain reversed his position, and encouraged his home state of Arizona to recognize the holiday despite opposition from Mecham.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference">
[9]</sup>
In 1990, Arizonans were given the opportunity to vote to observe an MLK holiday. McCain successfully appealed to former President Ronald Reagan to support the holiday.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference">
[10]</sup> Prior to that date,
New Hampshire and
Arizona had not observed the day. Throughout the 1990s, this was heavily criticized. Following the failure of the 1990 proposition to recognize the holiday in Arizona, the
National Football League moved
Super Bowl XXVII from
Sun Devil Stadium in
Tempe to the
Rose Bowl in
Pasadena, California.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference">
[11]</sup>