The Republic | azcentral.com Thu Feb 20, 2014 5:48 PM

Gov. Jan Brewer’s pen is a powerful economic-development tool.

She should use it to veto legislation that would allow businesses to refuse service to gays and lesbians on religious grounds.

Doing so would further what Brewer calls “ongoing work to make Arizona the best state in the country for high-tech companies to do business.”

Brewer voiced that optimistic hope for Arizona’s high-tech future in response to news that Google is considering building a superfast fiber-optic network in Phoenix, Tempe and Scottsdale.

Business advocates tout Arizona’s potential to lure companies from Silicon Valley to relocate here.

It’s a worthy goal.

Legislation passed in the state House and Senate undermines those aspirations.

Twin bills, SB 1062 and HB 2153, are promoted by socially conservative groups that oppose gay marriage. The proposed law is so poorly crafted it could allow a Muslim taxi driver to refuse service to a woman traveling alone.

Lawmakers opposed to this bill list a series of such scenarios.

The real target, however, is the gay and lesbian community.

Republican Sen. Steve Yarbrough pushed his bill in response to a New Mexico Supreme Court decision against a photographer who refused to take a gay couple’s wedding pictures.

Dare we suggest that Arizona laws should respond to Arizona issues?

In the rush to prevent anticipated problems, this bill elevates the religious beliefs of some above the civil rights of others.

There has to be a better way to address the concerns of photographers who oppose gay marriage, especially in a state that doesn’t allow gay marriage.

Some people are uncomfortable about the cultural and legal changes that increasingly recognize gays and lesbians as equal and worthy human beings. Those individuals have a right to their opinions. They have a right to follow whatever faith they choose. But using religion as an excuse to codify discrimination is wrong.

What’s more, this legislation will severely damage Arizona’s brand. It is the antithesis of the openness and diversity prized by the high-tech industry.

Google, for example, was a leader in providing benefits to same-sex couples. Silicon Valley executives actively opposed California’s 2008 ban on same-sex marriage, which was subsequently ruled unconstitutional.

Last year, Pew Research found that 70 percent of people born after 1980 support same-sex marriage.

Seventy percent.

High-tech companies need talented young workers, so they locate in places young people find attractive and welcoming.

Arizona should strive to be one of those places.

This bill is a do-it-yourself black eye that would tag Arizona as a champion of anachronistic views of sexual orientation.

That’s not just the wrong side of history; it’s the dumb side of economic development.

We urge the governor to veto this bill as part of her continuing message that Arizona is open for business.