Just when you think you’ve seen just about everything you will in life, the old saying that “truth is stranger than fiction” proves itself again. When Governor Mike Pence signed the “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” recently, I wonder if he truly understood the firestorm it would create. Business battle lines are being drawn. On the one side are those employers who have asked Indiana to allow them to refuse to provide service based upon religious convictions. On the other are a growing list of companies who have formed their own group, “Open For Service”, to let their customers and all potential business and individual clients know that they welcome all to their business. How will this play out?
Major US corporations have already begun to announce decisions to cut or eliminate all business related activities with any Indiana corporation. The controversial legislation may actually wind up forcing small businesses to take a side. The decision doesn’t simply affect specific groups of people, there has been an echo across the US from youth sports organizations refusing to go to Indiana to play (or allowing Indiana teams to compete in their own tourneys), to major brands such as Target and Walmart being forced to take a public position.
Will all Indiana businesses literally pay a price for this legislation?
While the bill was designed to allow Indiana employers to refuse to offer benefits or service those groups who were in conflict with their religeous beliefs, the net impact may be an unexpected and substantially damaging backlash on the bottom line of many Indiana retailers and corporations. “Controversial?” That’s an understatement.