Indiana is surprised and, frankly, a little hurt by all the hostility that has greeted its friendly new law inviting everyone to treat selected sets of people like pariahs.
Three days after signing legislation widely criticized as a “license to discriminate” against LGBT people, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence says he didn’t anticipate “the hostility that’s been directed at our state.”
Pence told the Indianapolis Star on Saturday he’s been in discussions with legislative leaders this weekend, and will support legislation to “clarify the intent” of the religious freedom that has created a firestorm of criticism, boycotts and backlash from civic leaders to business leaders, and even the White House.
It’s all a big misunderstanding. Poor Indiana.
The measure, which takes effect in July, prohibits state laws that “substantially burden” a person’s ability to follow his or her religious beliefs. The definition of “person” includes religious institutions, businesses and associations.
Critics say the catalyst for the measure was to allow businesses, such as florists and bakeries, to refuse services to same-sex couples following the legalization of same-sex marriage in the state.
Pence and other supporters of the law contend discrimination claims are overblown and insist it will keep the government from compelling people to provide services they find objectionable on religious grounds.
That’s a completely different thing. You can see that, right? Keeping the government from compelling people to provide services they find objectionable on religious grounds has nothing to do with allowing businesses, such as florists and bakeries, to refuse services to same-sex couples. Nothing at all. It’s just that, if a florist or a baker wants to refuse services to same sex couples on religious grounds, the government can’t force them to. See? Totally different.
I’m so relieved.
Pence must be dumber than a bag of hammers if he didn’t realize that those subject to legal discrimination (and their supporters) didn’t object to the legal discrimination.
Look at who he surrounded himself with. He is oblivious to the rest of the world that continues to be more accepting of homosexuality
I think the backlash against Indiana is great. It’s a perfect illustration of the Streisand Effect.
So many Hoosiers were calling his office to demand a veto that he turned off his phone and voicemail, but he didn’t see a backlash coming? He signed in a private ceremony and wouldn’t name the attendees of that ceremony, but he didn’t see the backlash coming?
This isn’t the first time Pence has ignored the will of the people. Check out the stunt he pulled with our superintendent and board of education. I only hope that this crap mobilizes voters. Pence won with 49.5% of the vote and only 58% voter turnout.
I also think it’s hilarious that he’s trying to cover his behind by claiming he is going to call for anti-discrimination legislation when his own party shot down Democratic amendments to the IRFRA that would have achieved exactly that end. We see through you, jerk. We know which lobbyists supported this law. We’ve read their self-congratulatory blog posts. Discrimination against the LGBT community was always the point of the law. It’s revenge for marriage equality finally reaching the state. No amount of press spin is going to put that toothpaste back in that tube.
Also, a legal abstraction like a business is fucking well not a person. It’s a convenient way of categorizing a set of assets, legal documents, transactions, contracts, etc. within a bureaucracy. It’s no more a person than a file folder is a person.
The hate that goes around, comes around.