INDIANAPOLIS —- A debate over a controversial religious exemption bill put Georgia on the national stage last month and in a very negative light.
It was a harsh glare not dissimilar to what Indiana faced one year ago when lawmakers there approved a Religious Freedom Restoration Act. A year ago today, after a week of intense international scrutiny, Indiana lawmakers approved amendments to the bill to offer protections to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Hoosiers.
But what’s happened there since?
Though Indiana lawmakers walked the measure back a bit by adding language to ensure the measure couldn’t be used by government or business to discriminate against the LGBT community, the damage to Indiana’s reputation remains, business groups say.
The feelings also are raw for many backers of the original RFRA bill, who say state lawmakers’ actions to change the bill were a betrayal.
Indiana’s experience in a media firestorm may have been top of mind for Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal when he vetoed a similar Georgia “religious liberty” bill on Monday, saying the state can protect religious rights without discriminating against anyone.
But despite Deal's veto, the topic isn't likely to go away. Georgia House Speaker David Ralston and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle have vowed to bring forward a new version of the bill next year.
In one interesting wrinkle, supporters of expanded LGBT rights in Indiana say the RFRA controversy may have accelerated the discussion by many years.
Adding protections to the Hoosier State’s civil rights law for sexual orientation and gender identity stalled in the Indiana State House this past session, but other measures seen as discriminatory were also killed. A number of Indiana cities are also exploring stronger local civil rights ordinances or establishing new ones.
Some cities are using their local rights ordinances to help recruit new businesses, recruiters say.
In Sunday's newspaper and on our subscriber website, www.MyAJC.com, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution looks at what happened in Indiana and the fallout from last year's RFRA battle.
The paper also looks at the controversy swelling in North Carolina over a bill to undo local anti-discrimination ordinances
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