Free Republic

When President Bill Clinton signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in 1993, the law had broad support in both major political parties and was widely perceived as an expression of a pluralistic society's tolerance. When Gov. Mike Pence signed Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act last week, the law became a bitterly partisan issue, denounced by Democrats across the country as an instrument of bigotry. This dramatic shift in attitudes has less to do with the substance of the statute, which is similar to the federal version that has been around for more than two decades, than with the perceived motives...

Protesters are demonstrating, the Obama administration is speaking out, the mainstream media is in an uproar, major companies are threatening boycotts, and even the NCAA is concerned that a new bill signed into law by Indiana Gov. Mike Pence could negatively impact the “inclusive” culture of college sports. Why such an extreme reaction to a bill simply reinforcing the religious freedoms of all Americans? Could it be that conservative Americans have dared to fight back against gay activists and their allies? Writing in the National Review, Patrick Brennan noted that, “When Indiana governor Mike Pence signed a religious-liberty-protection statute into...

The owners of a small pizzeria in Indiana were seemingly the first business to say they would publicly deny service to LGBT couples in the wake of Indiana’s new and controversial Religious Freedom Law. Shortly after Memories Pizza owners agreed in a local newscast that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act allows them to deny service to LGBT people who wanted their pizza at a same-sex wedding, 1-star Yelp reviews rolled in denouncing the business.

Walmart's CEO is standing up against a religious freedom law that just landed on the governor's desk in Arkansas, home to the company's headquarters. It's similar to the law Indiana adopted last week, which sparked outrage from those who say it opens the door for discrimination against gays and lesbians. Walmart (WMT) CEO Doug McMillon asked Gov. Asa Hutchinson to veto the bill, which was approved by the Arkansas House on Tuesday. The company is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas. "Today's passage of HB1228 threatens to undermine the spirit of inclusion present throughout the state of Arkansas and does not reflect...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- The Arkansas House of Representatives passed a "religious freedom" bill similar to the controversial measure in Indiana. The bill now heads to Gov. Asa Hutchinson's desk for signing into law. Hutchinson said that he would approve the measure if it made it to his office, CBS News affiliate KTVH in Little Rock reported. The Arkansas version of the bill -- HB 1228 -- would prevent state and local governments from infringement on someone's religious beliefs unless there were a "compelling" reason. Like the Indiana law, opponents say it would foster discrimination against the gay and lesbian...

There’s a secret underneath Boycott Indiana’s false rhetoric about that state’s new religious freedom law: some of those involved also want to force you to help purchase and perform abortions. Opponents of Indiana’s law (known as “RFRA”) say it discriminates, but neither it nor any of the nation’s 20 other RFRA laws mentions sexual orientation. They just create a general standard where religious claims sometimes win and sometimes lose. To justify calling RFRA “anti-gay,” its opponents radically redefine discrimination without saying so. The ACLU campaigns to “end the use of religion to discriminate.” But read the fine print, and you’ll...

A statement that says everything while saying nothing. NASCAR’s Brett Jewkes, senior vice president and chief communications officer, issued a statement as Pence spoke Tuesday.“NASCAR is disappointed by the recent legislation passed in Indiana. We will not embrace nor participate in exclusion or intolerance. We are committed to diversity and inclusion within our sport and therefore will continue to welcome all competitors and fans at our events in the state of Indiana and anywhere else we race.” Translation: Nothing has changed, including our willingness to do business in Indiana, but here’s some rhetoric for gay-rights activists in hopes that...

Rabid liberals are organizing protests and boycotts against Indiana claiming the Governor's new Religious Freedom Law will discriminate against gays - not that LGBT activists are purposely trying to entrap Christian businesses into being sued and losing their livelihoods - only to have no recollection of the "bigot" who signed the national Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law in 1993: one very proud Bill Clinton! And guess who voted for it as a Illinois state senator? That's right...Barack Obama! Nineteen states have passed similar laws with the help of or at the behest of Democrats. This is how disconnected today's...

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence (R) said Tuesday he will back an amendment to the state's new "religious freedom" law clarifying that it does not allow businesses to deny service to anyone, and insisted that he never intended to discriminate against members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

"There's something very dangerous happening in states across the country," Apple chief executive Tim Cook warned Monday in a Washington Post opinion piece against Indiana's newly passed Religious Freedom Restoration Act. It matters not to the corporate big shot that President Bill Clinton signed a federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act in 1993 (which current House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi supported) or that then-Illinois state Sen. Barack Obama voted for a similar law in 1998. It was one thing for Democrats to support religious freedom when there was no downside to standing up for the devout. Today there could be a...

A Christian florist and grandmother who declined to provide flowers for a same-sex wedding because of her Christian belief in traditional marriage has been fined $1,001 by a Washington court and will be held liable to pay the legal fees incurred by the gay couple, which could "devastate" her financially. As previously reported by The Christian Post, 70-year-old Barronelle Stutzman, the owner of Arlene's Flowers in Richland, Washington, was found guilty of violating the state's non-discrimination law in February, after referring Rob Ingersoll and Curt Feed to another florist when they asked her to provide the floral arrangements for their...

MILWAUKEE (WKOW) – Governor Scott Walker talked about Indiana's religious freedom bill on Monday in the Milwaukee area for the first time since it became law last week. Walker believes the NCAA will discuss how the bill, which some say gives businesses the right to discriminate against members of the LGBT community, will impact their headquarters and events like the Big Ten Football Championship Game, which are in Indianapolis, in the near future. Despite that, he doesn't think the law will stop most Badgers fans from making the trip to Indianapolis to see the men's basketball team play in the...

Indiana has adopted a state-level version of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), thereby imposing a “strict scrutiny” legal standard when the state government or local powers pass laws that interfere with the free exercise of religion. For this, Governor Mike Pence and Indiana’s legislators have been denounced as gay-hating monsters, a claim that was never made about President Bill Clinton, who signed the federal RFRA, or about the people and powers of such liberal states as Connecticut, which is one of the 20 states with a RFRA. Another dozen or so states have constitutional provisions similar to those...

White House doesn't dispute it. In an appearance on ABC's This Week, Indiana governor Mike Pence defended his state's Religious Freedom Restoration Act by noting that Barack Obama had voted for the same law as an Illinois state senator. "The Religious Freedom Restoration Act was signed into federal law by President Bill Clinton more than 20 years ago, and it lays out a framework for ensuring that a very high level of scrutiny is given any time government action impinges on the religious liberty of any American," Pence said. "After last year's Hobby Lobby case, Indiana properly brought the same...

A religious freedom bill signed into law by Indiana Republican Gov. Mike Pence Thursday is being characterized by major media outlets as a codification of anti-gay discrimination. They are wrong. Here is why. Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act is a state-level version of the federal RFRA. To understand what RFRA does, it helps to first understand how the law came about. History of RFRA In 1989, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling, Employment Division v. Smith, that was a radical departure from previous interpretations of the religious freedom clauses of the First Amendment. A member of the Native American...

Questions are being raised over two U.S. foundations that have poured more than three million dollars into abortion rights, LGBT activist, and legal groups to push the message that exemptions based on religious beliefs are “un-American” and an abuse of liberty. The Arcus Foundation and the Ford Foundation have spent over $3 million in combined spending against religious liberty exemptions since 2013, according to a CNA review of tax forms and grant listings.

Indiana Governor Mike Pence signed into law Thursday a bill he claims will protect religious liberty in his state. Overwhelmingly approved by that state’s Republican-controlled legislature, the law allows businesses and workers, citing their religious beliefs, to refuse service to anyone they find objectionable. Of course, what the so-called “religious freedom” act really does is legalize discrimination against lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender people.

(Reuters) - Apple Inc's Tim Cook, one of the most prominent openly gay American CEOs, has joined fellow tech industry chiefs in decrying a controversial Indiana law that opponents say could allow companies to deny services to gay people. Cook, who publicly declared his sexual orientation last year, joined other tech chief executives, including Salesforce.com Inc's Marc Benioff, in blasting the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which could let business and individuals turn away customers by citing "religious freedom." Indiana Governor Mike Pence signed the controversial bill into law on Thursday.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas inched closer Friday toward becoming the second state this year to adopt a law that critics say would sanction discrimination against gays and lesbians, with the state Senate approving a religious protection bill. The bill, approved by the Senate 24-7, prevents state and local government from taking any action that substantially burdens someone's religious beliefs unless a "compelling" interest is proven. The measure heads for a final vote next week in the House, which has already approved an initial version. The proposal faces an easy path forward, because Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson has said he'll...

Hillary Clinton is very unhappy about Indiana’s new Religious Freedom Restoration Act and on Thursday, she joined in the histrionics of the angry mobs who were complaining about the horrid, discriminatory law.  Sad this new Indiana law can happen in America today. We shouldn't discriminate against ppl bc of who they love #LGBT http://t.co/mDhpS18oEH— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 27, 2015  But Sean Davis, co-founder of The Federalist, pointed out that it was Hillary’s husband, then-President Clinton, who signed the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act in 1993.  I remember when your husband signed the federal version into law. RT @HillaryClinton...