Gov. Mike Pence says it's about religious freedom rather than discrimination, but that didn't stop an outpouring of outrage nationwide over the signing of the law.
No sooner had Republican Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed an anti-gay bill into law on Thursday that scores of businesses, civil rights groups, and even the Republican mayor of Indianapolis were rushing to rip it to shreds — at least publicly.
The backlash was fierce for Indiana’s “Religious Freedom Restoration Act,” which would allow business owners to refuse to serve gay and lesbian customers based on religious objections, according to a Christian Science Monitor report.
The bill brought condemnation from the highest places in the land, with Apple CEO Tim Cook saying that he was “deeply disappointed in Indiana’s new law” via Twitter. Cook recently came out as gay.
In a statement accompanying the signing of the bill, Pence defended the law, saying that faith and religion “are important values to millions of Hoosiers,” and that the new law would ensure that Indiana will continue to be a place “where we respect freedom of religion,” according to the report.
Pence told reporters after the signing that there has been a lot of “misunderstanding” about the law, with people mistakenly thinking it’s about business owners discriminating against certain types of people when it’s really about business owners being able to choose what customers to serve and what customers not to serve. He said he would have vetoed the bill if it was at all discriminatory.
The NCAA also came down hard against the new law, as the organization is based in Indianapolis and will be hosting a Final Four men’s basketball tournament in that city. NCAA President Mark Emmert said in a statement that he is “especially concerned” about how the legislation may affect the NCAA’s athletes and employees.
The Human Rights Campaign in Washington condemned the law as sending a “dangerous and discriminatory message” to gay people, according to the report.
