TIME Politics 2016 Election Democrats Caught Up In Controversial Indiana Religious Freedom Law Michael ConroyAP Indiana Gov. Mike Pence announces that the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services has approved the state's waiver request for the plan his administration calls HIP 2.0, during a speech in Indianapolis. Obama, Clinton have backed similar religious freedom bills.
Indianas new religious freedom law, which has prompted calls for a state boycott because it might permit discrimination against gays and lesbians, was made law by a Republican governor and Republican legislature. But the controversy could also ensnare leading Democrats like President Barack Obama, Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, who previously supported bills with similar effects years ago.
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act was signed into federal law by President Bill Clinton more than 20 years ago, said Indiana Gov. Mike Pence on ABCs This Week, defending his states actions by pointing to similar federal legislation. Indiana properly brought the same version that then state senator Barack Obama voted for in Illinois before our legislature.
The Indiana law prohibits the state from enacting statues that substantially burden a persons ability to follow his or her religious beliefs. Critics argue it could be used to allow businesses to discriminate against gay and lesbian Americans in the state, prompting criticism from executives at companies like Apple, Salesforce.com and the NCAA, which will host the mens Final Four basketball tournament in Indianapolis next weekend.
Democrats, including Hillary Clinton and aides to President Obama have also criticized the law. Sad this new Indiana law can happen in America today. We shouldnt discriminate against ppl bc of who they love, Clinton tweeted over the weekend.
But the Indiana law was modeled on the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) introduced by then-Rep. Chuck Schumer, who is now a senior Democratic Senator from New York, and signed into law in 1993 by then-President Bill Clinton. The bill passed the U.S. Senate by a vote on 97 to 3 in 1993. The power of God is such that even in the legislative process, miracles can happen, President Clinton joked at the time of the bipartisan consensus.
Unlike the federal law which is focused on restricting government action to protect religious freedom, the Indiana version has a broader scope, potentially giving new rights to claim religious beliefs for private parties, like wedding cake vendors, who do not want to serve gay couples.
As an Illinois State Senator in 1998, Obama also voted in favor of a version of the new Indiana law. Years after that law passed, Illinois passed an explicit ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation, making clear that the law could not be used to deny service between private parties. That provision is not on the books in Indiana.
Despite weighing in on other controversial legislation in states, including this months passage of an anti-union bill in Wisconsin, Obama has not commented on the Indiana law, leaving his aides to critique it.
Look, if you have to go back two decades to try to justify something you are doing today, it may raise some questions about the wisdom of what youre doing, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Sunday on ABCs This Week. Obama ducked a question on the Indiana law Saturday from reporters before departing on a two-day golf vacation to Florida.
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Democrats Caught Up In Controversial Indiana Religious Freedom Law