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Religious Freedom Restoration Act

On March 26, 2015 the Governor of Indiana, Michael Pence, signed a controversial new bill known as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) into law. The law “prohibits a governmental entity from substantially burdening a person’s exercise of religion, even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability, unless the governmental entity can demonstrate that the burden: is in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest; and is the least restrictive means of furthering the compelling governmental interest.”

According to Pence, the goal of the law is to “ensure that religious liberty is fully protected under Indiana law” and that it essentially “mirrors” the Federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The 1993 Federal RFRA was introduced after two Native American men in Oregon were fired from their jobs when it was discovered that during their private religious practices they consumed peyote, a hallucinogenic cactus. The men were denied unemployment benefits and attempted to sue the state, but failed. This led to a public backlash, which prompted the introduction of the Federal RFRA to protect the freedom of religious minorities throughout the nation.

While both sides of the debate agree that Indiana’s RFRA and the Federal RFRA share some similarities, opponents of the law believe that Indiana’s law expands the scope of the RFRA so far that it enables businesses and private companies to discriminate against people of the LGBT community, meaning that they could refuse to offer services due to their own religious beliefs that the LGBT “lifestyle” is immoral.

According to Senator Chuck Schumer, former congressman who introduced the Federal RFRA in 1993: “The federal RFRA was written narrowly to protect individuals’ religious freedom from government interference unless the government or state had a compelling interest,” and that it “could never be used to justify discrimination against gays and lesbians, in the name of religious freedom or anything else.” Schumer also pointed out that “The federal RFRA was never intended to apply to companies as it would to private individuals.”

Indiana has already faced major public backlash as a result of the RFRA. Since the signing, some states have banned state funded travel to Indiana. Celebrities such as comedian Nick Offerman have canceled appearances in the state, and businesses such as Angie’s List have said that they are reconsidering their plans of expanding and holding events in Indiana.

As a result, Governor Pence signed a new law that clarifies the wording of the act, prohibiting providers from using the law as a legal defense for refusing to provide services, goods, facilities or accommodations to others.

A similar RFRA was proposed in Georgia by Senator Josh McKoon (a representative of Columbus). Following national coverage of the backlash in Indiana, however, the bill was tabled in committee while lawmakers dealt with other concerns.

McKoon fought for the reintroduction of the bill, but it was not approved by the final day of Georgia’s legislative sessions on April 3. Governor Nathan Deal said that the bill could be opened back up for debate next year.

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