Indiana Governor Mike Pence, a
Republican, on Tuesday strongly suggested that he would not back
efforts to increase protections for lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and
transgender people.
In his televised State of the State
speech, Pence told legislators that “no one should ever fear
persecution because of their deeply held religious beliefs.”
“I will not support any bill that
diminishes the religious freedom of Hoosiers or interferes with the
constitutional rights of our citizens to live out their beliefs in
worship, service or work,” Pence said.
He added that no one should be
mistreated because of “who they love or what they believe.”
A debate on whether to add sexual
orientation and gender identity to Indiana's civil rights protections
is expected to take place as lawmakers return to work. It follows
last year's standoff, where boycott threats successfully pressured
lawmakers to rewrite a “religious freedom” bill to specifically
state that businesses cannot use it to discriminate against the LGBT
community.
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Tim
Lanane told the
AP that Pence was “proud of what happened last year and thinks
it's absolutely not necessary to restore our reputation as a state.”