BY ZACK FORD
Think Progress
With court decisions knocking down the same-sex marriage bans in Utah and Oklahoma, other states with bans are considering more creative ways of making sure marriage equality isn’t recognized. Both Kansas and South Dakota have proposed bills that would create a blanket “license to discriminate,” inviting anyone in the respective state to use religious beliefs as a legitimate reason to refuse service to same-sex couples. Both bills also protect any would-be discriminators from any legal claim or government retribution.
Kansas is somewhat more selective in their Bill, but in South Dakota, Senate Bill 67 would allow businesses and individuals to ignore any marriage that they simply don’t agree with:
“No person or any personal business may be required to provide services, accommodations, facilities, goods, or privileges for a purpose related to the solemnization, formation, or celebration of any marriage, or treat any marriage as valid for any purpose if such action would cause any such person or personal business to violate the person’s sincerely held religious beliefs.”
Read more at ThinkProgress.org
