Indiana Governor: Our Discriminatory New Law Is Fine, But We'll Fix It
LatestJust days after saying Indiana “won’t change” the newly passed Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Indiana Governor Mike Pence vowed this afternoon to “fix” the law, but added immediately that nothing’s wrong with it. Pence admitted he hadn’t been expecting “this kind of backlash” to the law, and accused its critics of trying to “smear” it.
Pence said in a press conference Tuesday afternoon that the RFRA was designed to “protect the vitality of religious liberty in the Hoosier state.” He insisted, not for the first time, that it doesn’t give individuals or businesses a license to discriminate or deny services: “Had this law been about legalizing discrimination, I would have vetoed it. This law does not give anyone a license to discriminate.” He also called descriptions of the law in the media “false and baseless” and accused journalists of “reckless reporting.”