Indiana native Tavis Smiley has called
Indiana's so-called religious freedom law “embarrassing.”
Critics argued that the law could open
the door to discrimination against gay men and lesbians. A backlash
led Republican Governor Mike Pence to ask lawmakers to “fix” the
law by adding LGBT protections.
(Related: Indiana,
Arkansas governors sign revised “religious freedom” bills.)
During an appearance on PoliticKING
with Larry King, Smiley, the
host of Tavis Smiley and
The Tavis Smiley Show, said that
he immediately condemned the law.
“I grew up in Indiana, went to
Indiana University, and I tweeted almost immediately, this is
embarrassing to my home state of Indiana. I'm glad that the
conversation that ensued forced the hand of the governor of Indiana,
and for that matter, the governor of Arkansas. There is no freedom
of religion or religious expression that can allow the kind of
discrimination that we saw that this law allowed to take place. I'm
glad that they finally got it figured out,” Smiley
said.
“Did it surprise you that it was
Indiana?” King asked.
“Didn't surprise me that it came out
of that legislature in Indiana. They've done some crazy things,”
he answered. “I was surprised in the sense that Mike Pence … was
on peoples' lists of a presidential candidate. I mean, that's not
going to happen now.”
(Related: Tavis
Smiley on Marriage Equality: I do not agree with that particular
issue.)