Ed Schultz: Religious Protection Bill Is a License for Gun-Crazy Arizonians to Kill
On Tuesday, MSNBC anchor Ed Schultz smeared Arizonians as gun-crazed maniacs salivating over a license to kill. The Ed Show host attacked legislation designed to protect the religious liberty of the state's business community. Even though the bill deals with those who, for example, might not want to supply cakes for a gay wedding, Schultz slimed, "This bill gives business owners the legal room to say 'get out of my store, because you got a turban on.' I just don't think it's about the gay and lesbian community."
Liberal Congressman Jim McDermott piled on, comparing, "If you remember back in 2001, we had a Sikh, a man with a turban, beaten almost to death." Schultz connected, "Of course, we know how they love firearms in Arizona. I mean, I think this opens the door for confrontation..." [MP3 audio here.]
Playing the role of a legal expert on the bill, the anchor lectured, "How a person looks is going to be judged...'Well, I threw 'em out of my store and I wouldn't serve them because it was against my religious beliefs.'"
A partial transcript of the February 25 segment is below:
5:23
ED SCHULTZ: This bill gives business owners the legal room to say "get out of my store, because you got a turban on." I just don't think it's about the gay and lesbian community. I think it -- there's other things that play into this, too. How a person looks is going to be judged. And then they're going to have the legal back up to say, "Well, I threw 'em out of my store and I wouldn't serve them because it was against my religious beliefs." I mean, isn't there a broad area here for interpretation that could lead to confrontation?
REP. JIM MCDERMOTT: Well, we actually that in Seattle. If you remember back in 2001, we had a Sikh, a man with a turban, beaten almost to death. He owned a motel and one of the people in there thought he was one of the people causing all the problems in new York and used the baseball bat on him.
...
5:24
SCHULTZ: That's exactly what it does. And, of course, we know how they love firearms in Arizona. I mean, I think this opens the door for confrontation, because there's going to be an interpretation going to have to be made at the scene why someone is not being served when they're being discriminated against in their minds, and of course by the law would back it up.
— Scott Whitlock is Senior News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Follow Scott Whitlock on Twitter.
