[JURIST] Indiana’s controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) [text, JURIST commentary] law took effect on Wednesday, one of many such bills to take effect today around the country. The bill, as originally written, made it legal for private businesses to refuse service to potential customers because of their sexual orientation. Many believe that this would in essence legalize discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community. After much objection, the state legislature amended [JURIST report] the bill, which now “bars discrimination based on race, color, religion, ancestry, age, national origin, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or U.S. military service.” The law provides exemptions for churches, their schools and non-profit organizations.

The law comes on the heels of last week’s US Supreme Court ruling [JURIST report] that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right. The court ruled that states must issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and also must recognized same-sex marriages that take place in other states. In regards to religious freedom laws, Indiana as well as other states have been enacting such legislation recently. In April Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson signed an amended version [JURIST report] of a ‘religious freedom law. The considerable backlash from the Indiana bill may be the reason Hutchinson declined to sign a similar bill [JURIST report] until state lawmakers brought it more in line with federal legislation. The Indiana religious freedom bill was originally signed into law [JURIST report] in March, as Governor Mike Pence signed the original controversial version after the state Senate approved the bill by a 40-10 vote.