Religious freedom law amended

Indiana governor Mike Pence has agreed to amend religious freedom legislation to prevent companies discriminating against gay men and lesbians, writes Michael Sean Winters.

Mr Pence made the change after facing a storm of criticism from gay and lesbian groups over the Religious Freedom Restor­ation Act (RFRA). A number of corporations had threatened to boycott Indiana over the legislation.

Mr Pence had argued that the law was not intended to discriminate against LGBT citizens, but  several large corporations still threatened they would no longer do business in Indiana. Religious freedom advocates have passed RFRA laws in 19 states, since the federal Government adopted the first law in 1993. RFRA requires the Government to prove that any burden on a citizen’s religious liberty was justified by a compelling state interest.

The Indiana law included the right to file a religious liberty claim to corporations. Indiana bishops called for both religious liberty protections and non-discrimination protections of the kind the “fix” adopted.