Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) supports the “Religious Freedom” law in Indiana, which has sparked national headlines, backlash and boycotts for being anti-LGBT.
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed The Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law last week and is already calling for changes to the legislation to clarify the discrimination issue. The law says the government cannot “substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion,” which many say paves the way for businesses to discriminate against LGBTs by refusing to serve them.
On March 30, Sen. Rubio appeared on Fox New’s “The Five” and said the law has created a “difficult debate” but said it’s essential in keeping business owners from being forced to violate their religions.
“No one here is saying it should be legal to deny someone service at a restaurant or at a hotel because of their sexual orientation. I think that’s a consensus view in America,” Rubio said on the show. “The flip side of it is: Should a photographer be punished for refusing to do a wedding that their faith teaches them is not one that is valid in the eyes of God?”
“The Five” co-host asked Rubio if he’d support adding sexual orientation protections to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 but Rubio said he doesn’t “fully understand how something like that would work.”
