Faith, freedom and flowers at gay weddings: the return of the American Culture Wars
At the last minute, on Thursday night, the US states of Indiana and Arkansas pulled themselves back from the brink by refusing to pass unamended legislation which had been condemned across the nation as anti-gay and discriminatory against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
Rarely before in US history has there been such an outcry mounted by a cross-section of church, business, sporting and entertainment leaders against bills which were promoted as defending religious freedoms but which were roundly criticised at the same time as being anti-libertarian in tone and intent.
If bad laws are legislation which has been passed too quickly then Indiana and Arkansas were in danger of subjecting themselves to measures they would come to regret. Last week, amid scenes of panic and mutual recrimination, the governors of both states were about to sign off new laws which were condemned by civic and business leaders as being overly discriminatory and reactionary. Both are versions of the existing federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
The opposition was not just confined to church leaders and other libertarian organisations: amongst the most strident critics were the retail giant Walmart which has its headquarters in Arkansas and the clothing manufacturers Gap and Levi Strauss which have powerful business interests in both states. Among the individual critics were Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, the novelist Stephen King and pop star Cher. Even Seth Hutchinson, son of Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson, was moved to tell his father that it was a flawed piece of legislation and that he should not sign it.
Their main objection was that the new law would allow businesses and other organisations to discriminate unfairly against gays and lesbians on religious grounds. At the same time conservative supporters of the two bills claim that it simply mirrors a federal law that prevents the government from "substantially burdening" a person's exercise of religion unless there is a "compelling interest".
In other words, here was a classic American culture clash of interests with lawmakers claiming that they were simply upholding existing religious beliefs such as stopping the government from compelling people to do things they object to on religious grounds, such as catering or providing flowers for a gay wedding.
At the same time opponents countered that it was repressive legislation which was anti-gay in tone and content and would simply fuel existing prejudices.
"These bills rationalise injustice by pretending to defend something many of us hold dear," argued Apple boss Tim Cook last week. "They go against the very principles our nation was founded on, and they have the potential to undo decades of progress toward greater equality."
Others were equally vocal with an array of business, sporting and entertainment figures threatening to withdraw plans to invest in Indiana or Arkansas or even to travel to either state. Suddenly it seemed as if both states could be closed for business in the immediate future.
This unprecedented display of opposition to the legislation brought a surprisingly quick result. On Thursday night in Indiana, legislators passed a series of alterations clarifying that changes to the religious freedom law would not permit anti-gay discrimination.
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Faith, freedom and flowers at gay weddings: the return of the American Culture Wars