Gov. Mike Pence signed Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act Thursday. Senate Bill 101, makes it legal for businesses to refuse service to individuals for personally-held religious beliefs, aiming to protect Hoosiers’ freedom of religion.
Opponents to the law claim it is a form of state-sanctioned discrimination and there has been no demonstrated need in Indiana for this kind of legislation.
Pence said he hopes the legislation will secure religious rights for people of all faiths in Indiana.
“The Constitution of the United States and the Indiana Constitution both provide strong recognition of the freedom of religion but today, many people of faith feel that their religious liberty is under attack by government action,” Pence said Thursday in a press release. “This bill is not about discrimination, and if I thought it legalized discrimination in any way in Indiana, I would have vetoed it,” he said.
When the bill passed through the Indiana General Assembly on Tuesday, garnering a vote of 40-10 in the Senate and 63-31 in the House of Representatives, Gen Con, Indianapolis’ largest annual convention, threatened to relocate the convention if Pence were to sign the bill. Last year, 56,000 people attended Gen Con, which had more than $50 million in economic impact for the city.
Calling Pence a “Republican presidential hopeful,” Democratic National Convention Vice Chair Ray Buckley noted that Pence is among company.
“Jeb Bush, Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio have all voiced support for similar legislation and policies that would give businesses the right to refuse services to LGBT people,” Buckley said in a press release. “So while Republicans applaud Mike Pence for allowing Indiana businesses to discriminate against the LGBT community, Democrats will continue to stand with our community and fight for a more inclusive society in Indiana and across the country.”
Jane Henegar, Executive Director of the American ?Civil Liberties Union of ?Indiana, said she believes legislators were reacting to last year’s failed attempt to insert a ban on same-sex marriage into the Indiana ?Constitution.
“The timing of this legislation is all important to understanding its intent: the bill was introduced as a backlash reaction to achieving marriage equality for same-sex couples in Indiana,” Henegar said. “We are deeply disappointed that the governor and state lawmakers have been tone-deaf to the cries of legions of Hoosiers ... who say they don’t want this harmful legislation to impair the reputation of our state and harm our ability to attract the best and brightest to Indiana.”
Nineteen other states have RFRA legislation. A federal statute of the same name has been in place since 1993.
Daniel Metz
