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Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder applauds members of the gallery in attendance before delivering his State of the State address to a joint session of the House and Senate, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015, at the state Capitol in Lansing, Mich.

(Al Goldis | AP file photo)

LANSING -- Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said he will not sign into law the Religious Freedom Restoration Act bill currently under debate in the Michigan Senate.

Dave Murray, a spokesman for Snyder, said Snyder plans to veto any standalone legislation similar to the controversial law passed in Indiana this month. He would consider a RFRA bill if there was also an expansion of the Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include protections for gay people.

"Gov. Snyder has said he supports religious freedom but strongly opposes discrimination of any kind," Murray said. "He believes he should support constitutional protections and strike a balance."

He added, "Ensuring freedom of religion is a basic founding principle of our country but so is equality."

A Religious Freedom Restoration Act bill was introduced in the Michigan House of Representatives in the end of the 2013-14 legislative session, but never made it to Snyder's desk. It was one of the first pieces of legislation introduced in the Michigan Senate this year.

There is a federal version of the law and 20 states have passed similar legislation since 1997, which is when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the federal version of the law did not apply to the states.

However, many of the state laws also include protections for gay people, something that Indiana's controversial law doesn't have. A similar bill in Arkansas, passed by lawmakers in that state, was vetoed by Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson earlier this week.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, also a Republican, has come under immense fire this week for signing that state's RFRA bill into law.

After offering milquetoast defenses of the law on national TV during the weekend, Pence's staff has worked with Indiana lawmakers to alter their RFRA law to ensure it won't discriminate against based on sexuality.

However, the negative reaction in Indiana and the statement from the governor's office that Snyder would veto RFRA won't stop one of the bill's main supporters.

State Sen. Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, said he wasn't surprised by Snyder's position on RFRA.

"There's nothing that the governor said that's a surprise," Shirkey said. "He's been very consistent since Day 1."

But that won't deter Shirkey, who said he plans to continue to push the legislation through the Michigan Senate and -- should it pass out of the upper chamber -- in the Michigan House of Representatives.

He said if Snyder plans to veto the legislation, Shirkey wants to "give him the opportunity."

Debate about expanding the Elliot Larsen Civil Rights Act -- which makes discrimination in housing and firing illegal -- died last year when a proposal couldn't get out of committee.

The bill included expanding ELCRA to gays and lesbians, but Democrats in the House refused to support legislation that did not include the transgender community in the bill.

Shirkey said he would not introduce any expansion to ELCRA in order to make sure the governor signs RFRA.

Snyder's statement was lauded by Progress Michigan, a liberal thinktank based out of Lansing.

"We are happy that Gov. Snyder, after intense pressure by Progress Michigan and the progressive and business communities, has strayed from his typical non-committal rhetoric by being absolute in his language about vetoing a RFRA bill in Michigan," said Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan.

But Scott added Snyder could go further to ensure gay and lesbian rights in the state.

"If the Governor is serious about his commitment against discrimination, he should demand that Attorney General Bill Schuette retract his suit in defense of Michigan's discriminatory marriage ban," Scott said, "and call on the Legislature to immediately pass an updated version of the Elliott-Larson Civil Rights Act to protect the entire LGBT community."

Kyle Feldscher is the Capitol education and MSU reporter for MLive Media Group. Reach him via email at kylefeldscher@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter at @Kyle_Feldscher. Read more stories here.