Indiana lawmakers on Thursday delivered
on a promised fix to a bill supporters say protects religious freedom
but critics argue targets the LGBT community.
After Republican Governor Mike Pence
signed the bill last week, an intense backlash led him to ask
lawmakers for a fix.
“It was never intended to
discriminate against anyone,” Senate President Pro Tem David Long,
a Republican from Fort Wayne, told reporters. “That perception led
to the national protests we've seen.”
The changes, which were tucked inside
an unrelated bill, would prohibit businesses from using the law as a
defense for refusing “to offer or provide services, facilities, use
of public accommodations, goods, employment, or housing” to any
customer based on “race, color, religion, ancestry, age, national
origin, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or
United States military service.”
The backpedaling infuriated social
conservatives who lobbied for the law
“Among the things that will happen,
Christian bakers, florists and photographers would now be forced by
the government to participate in a homosexual wedding or else they
would be punished by the government!,” Advance
America's Eric Miller said in a statement. “That's not right!”