Three Republican state senators in Arizona are backtracking on their support of SB 1062 and are urging Gov. Jan Brewer to veto the legislation, ABC News reported.
Days after they voted in favor of the bill -- which would allow businesses to deny their services to gay customers -- Sens. Bob Worsely, Adam Driggs, and Steve Pierce sent a letter to the governor asking her to strike it down.
"I was not comfortable' with the vote,' Worsley told The AP. "I have not been comfortable with this for some time. I think laws are on the books that we need and have now seen the ramifications of my vote. I feel very bad and it was a mistake."
"We were uncomfortable with it to start with and went along with it thinking it was good for the caucus," Pierce added. "We really didn't want to vote for it, but we made a mistake and now we're trying to do what's right and correct it."
However, the letter argued they had positive intentions to "create a shield for all citizens' religious liberties" though "the bill has been mischaracterized by its opponents as a sword for religious intolerance."
Both U.S. Senators from Arizona, John McCain and Jeff Flake, expressed on Twitter that they do not support the bill and hope Brewer vetoes it when it arrives in her office.
The bill is being supported by the Center for Arizona Policy, a socially conservative group that opposes gay marriage and abortion. The group's president, Cathi Herrod, criticized the attacks against the bill.
"The attacks on SB 1062 ... represent precisely why so many people are sick of the modern political debate," Herrod wrote on the group's website this weekend. "Instead of having an honest discussion about the true meaning of religious liberty, opponents of the bill have hijacked this discussion through lies, personal attacks, and irresponsible reporting.
"Our elected leaders have a fundamental duty to protect the religious freedom of every Arizonan, and that's what SB 1062 is all about."
Once the bill reaches Brewer, she will have five days to act before it becomes law. She has not commented on if she supports it or not.
