North Dakota lawmakers fail to pass anti-discrimination bill supported by gov...

North Dakota's Republican governor on Thursday said state lawmakers missed an opportunity to protect gays and lesbians from discrimination when they failed for the third time in six years to pass a measure that would prohibit bias in housing and employment based on sexual orientation.

"Discrimination based on an individual's sexual orientation is not acceptable," Gov. Jack Dalrymple said in a statement issued after the North Dakota Legislature killed the proposal.

Dalrymple made his view known on the same day that GOP governors in Arkansas and Indiana took actions designed to quell the uproar over so-called "religious freedom" laws that critics have said are disguised discrimination against gays.

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