Gov. Mike Pence plans to sign the controversial “Religious Freedom Restoration” bill in a private ceremony Thursday, according to a report from the Indianapolis Star.
Spokeswoman Kara Brooks said a specific time has not been set, according to the Star. The ceremony will be closed to the press and the public, she said.
The bill could allow business owners to refuse services to same-sex couples.
Pence has been under intense pressure from the bill’s opponents since the Republican-controlled Indiana General Assembly approved the measure on Tuesday.
The Act passed through the Indiana Senate, as Senate Bill 101, by a vote of 40-10.
The Indiana House approved the bill Monday on a 63-31 vote. The organizers of Gen Con, the city’s largest convention, sent a letter to the governor Tuesday threatening to move the event elsewhere in future years if the bill becomes law.
The Disciples of Christ, a Christian denomination based in Indianapolis, said it would look to other cities for its annual convention if Pence signs ?the bill.
Asked why the ceremony would be private, Brooks said there was “no particular reason.”
“Some (bill signings) are public; some are private,” she told the Star. “Don’t read into it any more or less.”
Hannah Alani
