Not All Business Leaders Convinced Clarifying RFRA Goes Far Enough

More than a dozen Indiana business leaders stood behind Republican lawmakers Thursday as they announced legislation aimed at repairing the damage caused by controversy around Indiana’s religious freedom bill, but not all are convinced the fix goes far enough.

The “clarifying language” to the measure known as RFRA says the controversial law can’t be used to deny anything to anyone on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.  Eli Lilly Vice President – and former Democratic Indianapolis mayor – Bart Peterson says that agreed-upon legislative fix shows that GOP lawmakers know the future of Indiana is at stake.

“And they value the future of our state above a desire to win, above the need for ideological purity,” Peterson said.

Scott McCorkle is the CEO of Salesforce Marketing Cloud. His parent company announced it was halting travel to and investment in Indiana after RFRA was signed into law last week. McCorkle says the legislative fix is a positive first step.

“But it is a first step in a larger discussion; we acknowledge the importance of equal rights for all,” McCorkle said.

Angie’s List CEO Bill Oesterle, whose company put plans to expand its Indianapolis headquarters on hold after RFRA’s passage, says the fix is insufficient and doesn’t provide real protections for the LGBT community.