Washington, DC - Today, the Indiana state legislature introduced an amendment to "fix" the newly-signed Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). The amendment comes in light of national outcry at the legislation that permits businesses to deny services or employment to transgender and LGB people on the basis of their religion.
The amendment introduced today intends to clarify that the state's new RFRA law cannot be used to discriminate against transgender and LGB people. However, it falls far short of what is needed to protect against anti-trans discrimination in Indiana. In light of these developments, National Center for Transgender Equality Executive Director Mara Keisling said, "Indiana needs to pass a law that will actually make discrimination against LGBT people illegal. Indiana businesses can still discriminate against trans and LGB people; they just can't say it's for religious reasons. Today's amendment doesn't go far enough—we need more."
NCTE calls on Indiana lawmakers to fully protect against anti-LGBT discrimination by enacting explicit state-wide nondiscrimination protections.
