How about if I were a Christian who truly believed in the verse, Timothy 2:12, "I do not permit a women to teach or have authority over a man, she must be quiet." Am I allowed to operate a business and refuse to offer qualified women managerial positions because of my religious beliefs?
Well that is the question they will never outright answer. To go one further, what if you are a Muslim man that wishes to deny service to Jewish patrons? Or women?
This reminds me of the asinine discussions that occurred at the beginning of the civil rights movement, when people attempted to claim 'persecution' of their freedom to do business because they were 'forced' to cater to African Americans and could not discriminate against them.
Same logic (or lack thereof) applies here. Which is why I also get irked when they attempt to use their notion of religious freedom to denote which medical procedures they will disallow because it violates their 'faith'. i.e. deny birth control because they are Catholic.
By that logic, a Jehovah Witness running a business should be able to state that their medical insurance should not have to cover blood transfusions. It's moronic. Arizona is making a fool of itself. Notice however that the two senators are actually against this bill. Probably because they are looking at the poll numbers and realizing it will backfire on them. Not unlike the government shutdown.