Late last week, Arizona approved Senate Bill 1062–legislation that prevents state action against businesses that deny service to customers based on sexual orientation. With a 33-27 vote from the House, supporters say it is meant to protect peoples’ religious rights, while opponents, like Minority Leader Chad Campbell, are calling it “state-sanctioned discrimination towards the LGBT community.” Similar legislation was recently withdrawn in Idaho, Kansas, Main, Tennessee, and South Dakota.
Arizona Republican Governor Jan Brewer has until midweek to sign the bill.
NBC Dateline’s What Would You Do? has simulated encounters in which lesbians and gays are denied service. See how people react when a lesbian is denied her wedding dress:
