Pence on 'religious freedom' bill: 'I stand by this law'

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence dug in his heels Sunday, supporting the "religious freedom" legislation he just signed and refusing to support nondiscrimination protections.

Pence struggled under persistent questioning from ABC's George Stephanopoulos on Sunday morning as he went on air to defend the law. Stephanopoulos asked Pence six times whether the new law would allow a business to discriminate against gay couples, and Pence ducked the question six times.

"George, you're following the mantra of the last week online, and you're trying to make this issue about something else," Pence said in response to Stephanopoulos' pressing. "What I am for is protecting, with the highest standards in our courts, the religious liberty of Hoosiers. I signed the bill, we're going to continue to explain it to people who don't understand it, and if possible, we will find a way to amplify what this bill really is in the legislative process.

"But I stand by this law."

One thing Pence was clear about, however: He will not support language that would bar discrimination. The performance Sunday morning, on national television, marked an apparent about face from Saturday, when he told The Indianapolis Star that he would support new protections.

Instead, Sunday, Pence stuck to a tight message of insisting the new law will not allow for discrimination and tried to shift blame for the national outcry to the media, including blaming Stephanopoulus directly.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest, who followed Pence on the show, said that Pence had slid into "damage control." But Earnest himself ducked a question of whether President Barack Obama supports calls to move the Final Four from Indianapolis because of the new Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Under Senate Enrolled Act 101, signed by Pence in a private Statehouse ceremony Thursday morning, state or local governments are prohibited from substantially burdening a person's ability to exercise his or her religion — unless the government can show that it has a compelling interest and that the action is the least restrictive means of achieving it.

The bill, which goes into effect July 1, does not mention sexual orientation, but opponents fear it could allow business owners to deny services to gays and lesbians for religious reasons.

With the signing, Indiana became the 20th state in the nation to adopt such legislation. It is modeled on the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which President Bill Clinton signed in 1993.

But the bill was met with swift and harsh criticism. During Sunday morning's interview, Pence referred to the backlash as an "avalanche of intolerance."

The mayors of San Francisco and Seattle have banned all city-funded trips to Indiana. Salesforce.com founder and CEO Marc Benioff announced on Twitter that the company would no longer send employees or customers to Indiana.

Angie's List CEO Bill Oesterle said he will cancel the company's plans for a $40 million expansion of its Eastside headquarters because of his opposition to RFRA.

On Saturday, thousands of people attended an anti-RFRA rally in Downtown Indianapolis and chanted "no hate in our state" as they marched from Monument Circle to the Indiana Statehouse.

Pence has publicly stood firm with the measure, but ever since the tech CEOs and national celebrities began blasting away at him and Indiana, he has been working behind the scenes to assuage concerns.

The first-term governor has been taking calls with Benioff and had a private meeting with Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard.

Pence accused media of "shameless and reckless" twisting of the law's impact Sunday, continuing a strategy of blaming the press.

"This is where this debate has gone, with misinformation," Pence said. "We've been doing our level best, George, to correct the gross mischaracterization of this law that has been spread all over the country by many in the media … and the online attacks against the people of our state. I'm just not going to stand for it."

Call Star reporter Tom LoBianco at (317) 444-7136. Follow him on Twitter: @tomlobianco.

Call Star reporter Justin L. Mack at (317) 444-6138. Follow him on Twitter: @justinlmack.