Lambda Legal attorney Jenny Pizer explains why Pence lied when he said the Indiana "religious freedom" law isn't about discrimination. (Note: this may not be sexy stuff, but it's important.)
Here's Pizer:
Gov. Pence, in his signing statement, said, "This bill is not about discrimination, and if I thought it legalized discrimination in any way in Indiana, I would have vetoed it. In fact, it does not even apply to disputes between private parties unless government action is involved." First, Pizer refutes the Pence's discrimination claim.
If this new law does not seek to facilitate discrimination, why did legislators pressing for its passage say it’s “needed” to allow businesses to turn away same-sex couples? And why did a majority of Indiana legislators then reject amendments offered to specify that these enhanced religious rights cannot be used to excuse discrimination? Second, Pizer explains that Indiana's new Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) will allow individuals to defend themselves in court against other individuals who might sue them for discrimination. This is new. The old RFRAs did not apply to private disputes. They were meant to keep the government from infringing on an individual's religious beliefs.
Further, about disputes between private parties, the law says explicitly, “A person whose exercise of religion has been substantially burdened, or is likely to be substantially burdened, by a violation of this chapter may assert the violation or impending violation as a claim or defense in a judicial or administrative proceeding,
regardless of whether the state or any other governmental entity is a party to the proceeding.” This language was included to allow private parties to object to following a law that otherwise would apply to them, and to assert these expanded religious rights in a dispute with another private party.
