The brouhaha over Indiana’s new law in defense of religious freedom has ignited a firestorm between the left and the right. And it carries forward the ongoing debate which was begun ostensibly in the fight in Arizona over a bill that was designed to protect businesses whose religious convictions prompt them to refuse business that violates their conscience.
The fight has drawn criticism from the Left of thinly-veiled bigotry and ‘radical, right’ lunacy, and now that it is passed it will almost certainly be litigated up through the federal courts and perhaps even end up in the Supreme Court.
And now the fight is drawing presidential candidates in the fray. This could be an early preview to what a primary debate might look like. In the last few days no fewer than a half dozen of the Republican presidential hopefuls have stepped out in support of the law.
Jeb Bush defended Indiana Gov. Mike Pence’s signing of the law saying it was the “right thing”, and Marco Rubio argued that the law is not legalizing discrimination but rather defending religious conviction.
In a twist of irony, Hillary Clinton tweeted that she was ‘sad’ to see Pence sign the bill despite that her husband, then-President Bill Clinton, signed a similar federal measure defending a traditional view of marriage.
