Vincennes University President Dr. Richard Helton as well as the Presidents at Purdue, Ball State and Earlham College issued statements Monday affirming their policies on nondiscrimination and inclusion in response to the recently passed religious objections law.
Meanwhile…
House and Senate Republicans spent more than three hours in caucus Monday, debating behind closed doors how to balance concerns over the Religious Freedom Restoration Act with their reasons for passing the law in the first place.
Republican leaders pledged to push through a followup bill which makes explicit that the law can‘t and shouldn‘t be used to justify denial of service or other discrimination. House Majority Leader Jud McMillin says says they are still working on the wording of the followup bill.
However, Senate President David Long notes any bill must get the green light from rank and file legislators first under General Assembly rules. He says everything is on the table” in terms of clarifying the law, including amendments introduced in the original RFRA debate by Democrats. But Long and House Speaker Brian Bosma say they won‘t follow the urging of Democratic leaders and repeal the law outright. Conservative groups have launched a counteroffensive lobbying legislators to leave the law unchanged, and there‘s no guarantee leaders can corral the necessary votes to make changes.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence is getting some blame from fellow Republicans on how the state’s new religious objections law is being perceived around the country.
House Speaker Brian Bosma said Monday that Pence raised the specter of the law permitting discrimination against gays and lesbians by not directly answering questions on the subject during a Sunday national television interview.
Pence was asked at least six times during the ABC interview whether the law would allow a merchant to refuse to serve gay customers.
Bosma says the law doesn’t endorse discrimination against anyone. Senate President Pro Tem David Long says Pence should’ve stated that message on Sunday.
Long says he disagrees with a “small tribe” of law supporters who say it permits such discrimination.
