When Arizona's Governor signed the controversial bill aimed at dealing with undocumented immigrants, several advocacy groups joined a handful of cities in a boycott against the state of Arizona.
Among the groups to join in the boycott is the Human Rights Campaign. But when they announced their intention to join the coalition of groups which includes the League of United Latin American Citizens and the National Council of La Raza, the HRC received some surprising push back.
Critics of the HRC's opposition to Arizona SB 1070 took to social networks like Facebook to voice their opposition to the boycott.
This comment from a Los Angeles resident spelled out a particularly interesting point of view on the issue:
"...to all my friends in the Gay community: We have certain rights as legal citizens that need hammering out first. The last thing we need is the amnesty of and voting privilege of a group that is generally poorly educated, strongly Catholic, and highly homophobic."
Another person in Santa Ana has launched an online boycott of the HRC on Facebook for joining the boycott of Arizona.
Conversely, some Latino Christian leaders have openly voiced their opposition to including Gays and Lesbians in immigration issues.
Groups like the National Hispanic Christian Conference, who's lead spokesman has a Sacramento congregation, have gone on the record to say current immigration proposals are already difficult. But they say asking gay and lesbian couples to be recognized in immigration reforms would make any bills impossible to pass.
This story could illustrate some key characteristics of two very interesting demographic groups in the Bay Area, California, and the country as a whole.
Much like Proposition 8 exposed some issues between the GLBT community and the African American community within the state, my proposed reporting on this issue could also illuminate issues that are just not currently being examined by any media outlets.
