Language of New Proposal for Indiana Anti-Gay ‘Religious Liberty’ Bill Under Consideration by Mike Pence

The Indianapolis Star has published a report of the language under consideration for an amended version of the Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act (aka the anti-gay ‘religious liberty’ bill):

The measure goes much further than a “preamble” that was proposed earlier in the week, explaining exactly what the RFRA law does. But it doesn’t go as far as establishing gays and lesbians as a protected class of citizens or repealing the law outright, both things that Republican leaders have said they could not support.

The clarification would say that the new “religious freedom” law does not authorize a provider – including businesses or individuals – to refuse to offer or provide its services, facilities, goods, or public accommodation to any member of the public based on sexual orientation or gender identity, in addition to race, color, religion, ancestry, age, national origin, disability, sex, or military service.

The proposed language exempts churches or other nonprofit religious organizations – including affiliated schools – from the definition of “provider.”

Republicans in the legislature still must vet the language, the paper reports, and it’s unclear how conservative groups would react.

It’s likely that opponents of the RFRA will also oppose this half-assed attempt to disguise the bigotry as it falls short of full protections against discrimination for gay and lesbian citizens of Indiana.