The backlash against Indianas Religious Freedom Restoration Act has come thick and fast. <\/p>\n
As soon as Gov. Mike Pence (R) signed the bill into law Thursday, vocal opposition came from businesses, organizations, civil rights groups, the Republican mayor of Indianapolis, and at least one church asserting that the law would lead to discrimination against gay people. <\/p>\n
The bill allows business owners to refuse to serve gay and lesbian customers or clients based on religious objections. For example, a bakery, florist, or photographer could refuse on religious grounds to provide their services for a same-sex wedding, which is legal in Indiana. <\/p>\n
Faith and religion are important values to millions of Hoosiers and with the passage of this legislation we ensure that Indiana will continue to be a place where we respect freedom of religion and make certain that government action will always be subject to the highest level of scrutiny that respects the religious beliefs of every Hoosier of every faith, Gov. Pence said in a statement accompanying the bill signing. <\/p>\n
\"There has been a lot of misunderstanding about this bill,\" Pence told reporters after the private bill signing in his office. \"This bill is not about discrimination, and if I thought it legalized discrimination in any way I would've vetoed it.\" <\/p>\n
The bill generated widespread opposition before and after Pence signed it. <\/p>\n
The new law comes just days before the Indianapolis-based NCAA holds its final four mens basketball tournament in that city. Will it do so in the future? <\/p>\n
\"The NCAA national office and our members are deeply committed to providing an inclusive environment for all our events. We are especially concerned about how this legislation could affect our student-athletes and employees, NCAA President Mark Emmert said in a statement. We will work diligently to assure student-athletes competing in, and visitors attending, next weeks Mens Final Four in Indianapolis are not impacted negatively by this bill. Moving forward, we intend to closely examine the implications of this bill and how it might affect future events as well as our workforce.\" <\/p>\n
The Human Rights Campaign in Washington (HRC), which works for LGBT rights, warns that the law sends a dangerous and discriminatory message regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. <\/p>\n
Theyve basically said, as long as your religion tells you to, its ok to discriminate against people despite what the law says, HRC legal director Sarah Warbelow said in a statement. Astoundingly, Indiana representatives ignored the warnings of businesses and fair-minded Hoosiers, and now businesses owners and corporations are forced to consider other options when looking at states to invest in. <\/p>\n
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Indiana religious freedom act: how big a backlash? (+video)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The backlash against Indianas Religious Freedom Restoration Act has come thick and fast. As soon as Gov. Mike Pence (R) signed the bill into law Thursday, vocal opposition came from businesses, organizations, civil rights groups, the Republican mayor of Indianapolis, and at least one church asserting that the law would lead to discrimination against gay people Continue reading