Mike Pence on Sunday refused to say
whether he believes business owners should have the right to refuse
service to gay men and lesbians based on their religious beliefs.
Last year, Pence, Donald Trump's
running mate, as governor of Indiana was forced to “fix” a
“religious liberty” law that critics said would allow businesses
to discriminate against the LGBT community based on their beliefs.
Fox News Sunday host Chris
Wallace asked Pence: “Do you believe that a business owner, a
person who owns a bakery, a photography shop, whatever, should have
the right to refuse to serve a gay if he feels that it violates his
religious convictions?”
Pence answered that he does not believe
in discrimination, but avoided answering the question.
“If I was in a restaurant and I saw
someone denied service because they were gay, my family wouldn’t
eat there again,” Pence
said. “I don’t believe in discrimination and I don’t
support discrimination against anyone.”
“But when there is a conflict of
rights here in our society, those are the proper purview of the
courts,” Pence added. “And I do believe that the efforts we made
in Indiana contributed to being able to resolve those things as
Americans have done for generations.”