A. STATUTES EXPRESSLY INCLUDING RETAIL STORES

      Twenty states and D.C. specifically include retail establishments or stores in their definitions of places of public accommodation. Most of these states have two relevant sections of their statutes dealing with public accommodations: one defining a “place of public accommodation” and one expressly prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race in those places. Colorado, D.C., Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and South Carolina all expressly list retail stores or establishments as places of public accommodation. Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Tennessee do not specifically use the word “retail” in their statutes. Rather, they define places of public accommodation to mean “any place, store, or other establishment ... that supplies accommodations, goods, or services to the general public,” or “any public place ... for the sale of goods and merchandise.” Whether they use “retail establishment” or just “store,” these states have expressly included retail establishments as places of public accommodation. This is most likely a response to the federal Title II language and federal precedent establishing that retail stores are not considered places of public accommodation under federal law. In fact, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, and South Carolina all use identical or near-identical language to Title II but specifically add an additional line to include retail establishments.