Fresh news from Indiana, via the Associated Press:
The measure prohibits state laws that "substantially burden" a person's ability to follow his or her religious beliefs. The definition of "person" includes religious institutions, businesses and associations.
Businesses and organizations across the country have canceled future travel to Indiana, tabled expansion plans or criticized the legislation. Opponents have taken to social media with the hashtag #boycottindiana.
Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma and Senate President Pro Tem David Long said during a Monday news conference that similar laws exist across the country and did not generate the backlash that Indiana has seen. Bosma blamed the reaction on a "mischaracterization" of the law by both opponents and some supporters.
"What we had hoped for with the bill was a message of inclusion, inclusion of all religious beliefs," Bosma said. "What instead has come out as a message of exclusion, and that was not the intent."
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Tax breaks have encouraged growth of the film industry in Georgia, and so the group Georgia Unites Against Discrimination is going Hollywood, with an anti-SB 129 ad (right) appearing on the website of Variety, the all-important trade paper.
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We've received word that opponents of the religious liberty legislation will gather at noon Tuesday at Central Presbyterian Church, across from the state Capitol. They intend to march into the Capitol, where the Legislature will be down to its 39th day.
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Proponents of SB 129 were at the Capitol this morning, looking for support – and not finding it:
But just in case you thought preachers don't have the intestinal fortitude to pick a fight:
Meanwhile, Erick Erickson, the radio provocateur, was assuming the worst this morning:
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State Sen. Vincent Fort is holding a prayer service Monday night for two "religious liberty" protesters arrested at the statehouse after being refused a meeting with sponsors of the legislation.
Fort said Emma Stitt and Jess Reznicek were arrested eight days ago and planned to "remain in jail until the legislative measure has been defeated."
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Whichever way Georgia's "religious liberty" bill goes, the issue won't disappear – and is likely to become a major feature of the 2016 GOP presidential contest. Dr. Ben Carson offered his thoughts on the matter via Breitbart News:
"It is absolutely vital that we do all we can to allow Americans to practice their religious ways, while simultaneously ensuring that no one's beliefs infringe upon those of others. We should also serve as champions of freedom of religion throughout the world," Carson [said].
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Then there's Pat McCrory, the Republican governor of North Carolina, who has split from the GOP herd. From the Charlotte Observer:
McCrory also said he opposes a Senate-passed bill to give magistrates the right not to perform same-sex marriages if they say that violates their religious beliefs.
"I don't think you should have an exemption when you took an oath to uphold … the constitution of North Carolina," he said.
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Over at the New York Times, columnist Ross Douthat advises liberals to at least concede the uncertainty that is fueling angst among religious conservatives:
...At the very least, I think liberals would benefit from recognizing that the current thinking of religious conservatives, in the RFRA debate and elsewhere, is shaped not only by these kind of specific fears but by a near-total uncertainty about what happens after this, and after that, and so on. And given how the ground has shifted recently, I think there would be real benefits for both sides to having more people on the left and center-left taking explicit positions on where we might and ought to go from here.
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