INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana lawmakers have proposed limited protections for gays as they try to quell concerns about a new law that supporters say protects religious liberties and critics say would allow discrimination.
Document set
Religious Freedom Restoration Act
A draft of the language obtained by The Indianapolis Star says the new law can't be used as a legal defense for refusing to provide services, goods or accommodations to residents based on their sexual orientation. But it would not make gays a protected class under the state's civil-rights laws or repeal the law signed by Republican Gov. Mike Pence last week.
The draft language would exempt churches and other nonprofit religious organizations.
Legislative leaders huddled privately for hours with Pence, business executives and other lawmakers, but did not come to a final agreement on how to clarify the law. A final deal will require approval of the Legislature and Pence.
The Indiana law prohibits any laws in the state that "substantially burden" a person's ability to follow his religious beliefs unless the government can show that it has a compelling interest and that the action is the least restrictive means of achieving it. The definition of "person" includes religious institutions, businesses and associations.
The law set off a firestorm, with both critics and some supporters saying it would allow businesses to deny service to gay consumers on the basis of religious beliefs. Multiple businesses threatened to boycott the state because of it.
Pence asked for a clarification of the law Tuesday even as he defended it, saying it was meant only to protect religious freedoms and was based on a 1993 federal law signed by then-President Bill Clinton. Twenty states now have similar laws in place.
But critics say the language of the law is broader than the federal law. The Indiana law -- like a proposed one in Arkansas -- would allow for corporations, if they are substantially owned by members with strong religious convictions, to claim that a mandate violates their religious faith, something reserved for individuals or family businesses in other states' laws.
It also allows religious parties to go to court to head off a "likely" state action that they fear will impinge on their beliefs, even if such action has not yet happened.
The Indiana law, which takes effect July 1, does not specifically mention gays, but opponents say it is designed to protect businesses and individuals who do not want to serve gays, such as florists or caterers who might be hired for a same-sex wedding.
Pence said Tuesday that the law would not allow for such discrimination, but even some supporters of the law have contradicted him.
On Wednesday, an Indiana woman whose family owns a small-town pizzeria said the law supports the restaurant's right to deny service to any same-sex couples who might ask it to cater their weddings.
Crystal O'Connor of Memories Pizza said her family would serve a gay couple or a non-Christian couple at its restaurant in Walkerton, which is about 20 miles southwest of South Bend in northern Indiana. But O'Connor said the restaurant would say no if a gay couple asked it to provide pizzas for a wedding, because the business reflects her family's Christian beliefs.
Information for this article was contributed by staff members of The Associated Press and The New York Times.
A Section on 04/02/2015