Arizona Governor Jan Brewer makes a statement saying she vetoed the controversial Senate Bill 1062 bill, at Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix February 26, 2014.
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer makes a statement saying she vetoed the controversial Senate Bill 1062 bill, at Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix February 26, 2014.Reuters

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed a bill Wednesday that would have bolstered a business owner's right to refuse service to homosexuals and others on the basis of religion.

While the governor's vetoing of the controversial SB 1062 bill comes as a welcome relief after the bill met with fierce public criticism, there are mixed reaction on the decision. 

The veto, delivered on the same day a federal judge struck down a law against same-sex marriage in Texas, came amid intense outcry from the gay community and its supporters.

"Senate Bill 1062 does not address a specific and present concern related to religious liberty in Arizona," Brewer said in televised remarks from Phoenix. "I have not heard of one example in Arizona where a business owner's religious liberty has been violated."

She added that she had concerns that the bill had "the potential to create more problems that it purports to solve." Enthused public, who had gathered outside the Capitol, could be heard cheering as Brewer finished her televised statement.

Even as critics have described the bill as anti-gay, divisive, unconstitutional - and harmful to Arizona's reputation, many people are still angry that the controversial bill was even discussed.

Those who proposed the SB 1062 bill say that the intent of it has been misrepresented. They have argued that the bill was not meant to be discriminatory as largely perceived, but was to protect religious freedom.

The Center for Arizona Police, a conservative group that supports the bill, called Wednesday "a sad day."

"SB 1062 passed the legislature for one reason only: to guarantee that all Arizonans would be free to live and work according to their faith," Cathi Herrod, the group's president, said in a statement.

"When the force of government compels one to speak or act contrary to their conscience, the government injured not only the dignity of the afflicted, but the dignity of our society as a whole," he said adding: "The religious beliefs of all Arizonans must be respected and this bill did nothing more than affirm that."

Here are few more reactions from people in Twitter on the Governor Jan Brewer's decision to veto against the bill.