After the recent heat Gov. Mike Pence was under due to signing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, many people are relieved these new revisions were implemented.
The wording of the RFRA left too much room for interpretation of the bill and many feared the LGBT community would not be protected from discrimination.
It definitely makes me wonder what long-lasting effect the original bill signing is going to have on Indiana, even with this ?conflict resolved.
Not only did this bill create a gateway to discriminatory actions, but it also hurt ?Indiana economically.
Businesses such as Angie’s List were not going to stand for these changes. Angie’s List took a stand, like many other businesses and celebrities, to protect the freedom of every citizen. Even Wal-Mart in Arkansas threatened to close all of their stores in the state due to a “copycat” bill that mirrored Indiana’s bill.
Arkansas has signed this bill, and the heat has been placed on Arkansas for this choice.
With the revisions to this bill, there will be less opportunity for discrimination to ?happen in large businesses, and the economy should be saved from the treacherous effects it could have had if it had not been revised. Gov. Pence made the right choice in the end.
However, I do find it disheartening that it took millions of people from around the United States who were outraged and businesses that would not stand for that kind of discrimination to make him conclude there had to be a revision made.
Pence might have saved the economy from dangerous long-term consequences, but the chance of salvaging his reputation will appear to be a much greater challenge in the coming months.
It is important we do not lose sight of a free country and the right to legally live the way you choose.
We cannot keep electing those who have their priorities elsewhere.
A petition should be started to investigate his actions due to the severity of this issue and his willingness to discriminate so blatantly.
Samantha McCoy
sammccoy@indiana.edu
