Two groups opposed to LGBT rights have
filed a legal challenge to LGBT protections added to Indiana's
version of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
According to the Indiana
Business Journal, the Indiana Family Institute and the
American Family Association of Indiana filed the lawsuit Thursday in
Hamilton County Superior Court.
The groups argue that the LGBT
protections included in the law violate their religious liberties,
freedom of conscience, right to free speech and association, equal
protection under the law and right to due process.
Passage of Indiana's original version
of the law led to several companies threatening to boycott the state,
arguing that it would allow businesses to turn away gay and lesbian
couples. The law was seen by many as a Republican response to defeat
of Indiana's ban on gay marriage and the unraveling of a proposed
constitutional amendment aimed at strengthening its definition of
marriage as a heterosexual union.
Republican Governor Mike Pence at first
defended the law, but later asked lawmakers for a “fix.”
The groups have also set their sights
on comprehensive LGBT protection ordinances approved by the cities of
Carmel and Indianapolis, arguing that both are unconstitutional.