Right now in the country, there is quite the division. There are people who believe in same-sex marriage and then there are those who disagree with it. Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act seems to strike a chord on this issue. However, there seems to be a lot of gray area surrounding exactly what it is and what it will do.

The first misconception that people are using to condone this act is the 1993 Federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act. This act was passed over the issue of a firing of an Oregon Native American man who was let go after testing positive for peyote, a drug used in religious ceremonies. The 1993 act was drawn up to protect religious minorities, like Native Americans, from being discriminated against by their employers.

Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act has absolutely nothing to do with anything like that. It’s sole purpose is to protect people from being sued if they choose to deny their services to anyone with conflicting religious views of theirs. The law, however, defines a ‘person’ as an individual, a church, a company, an organization, or even a limited liability cooperation.

As with any piece of legislature, the perspective repercussions are weighed out and it seems that there is the potential for some very harsh consequences on our progressing society. This bill would allow a company in Indiana to deny service to anyone based on their religious views with no repercussions.

So if a gay couple wanted to eat at a restaurant, they could possibly be denied service and have no ability to fight their discrimination. There are lots of possible scenarios like this and it is very concerning.

In 2015, discrimination of any kind should surely be dwindling out, not being instituted in legislature. Until this act is repealed, our great, progressive nation will be taking steps backwards every day.

There are many people that believe that Indiana Governor Mike Pence, a possible 2016 Republican presidential candidate, passed this law mostly for political gain, however, if it was it was a terrible mistake. It is no secret that his Republican party has trouble drawing votes from our younger voting brackets. This law is only going to sully his outlook as the progressive and strong leader that younger people want to vote for. In a time where so many laws and acts are passed with only a political agenda in mind, the perspective loss of public opinion that the continuation of this legislature could enact on Governor Pence should be enough to sway him to repeal this socially regressive law.
Hopefully this law is repealed soon so that our country and the entire state of Indiana can get on with business as usual and start focusing on bigger and more important issues.

The fear here in Nebraska is that the institution of this legislature would spark a wave of similar legislature across the nation that could reach Nebraska and that something similar to Indiana would happen here in Nebraska.