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• The Decline of American Federalism

Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act and Social Evolution

Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) (Indiana 119th… 2015) provides a private business owner with a legal defense for discriminating against individuals if it conflicts with their religious beliefs. As Jonathan Cohn of the liberal Huffington Post explains, “The goal is to give business owners a stronger legal defense if they refuse to serve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender customers and want to cite their faith as justification for their actions” (Cohn, 2015). Likewise, Jonah Goldberg of the conservative National Review explains, “If someone feels their religious rights have been violated, they can go to court and make their case. That’s it.” (Goldberg 2015). They’ve both essentially come to the same synopsis of the RFRA. One outcome of the RFRA is clear: it provides private business owners with a legal defense to discriminate based on religious grounds.

Issues like these are where intellectually consistent libertarians run into problems with liberals. Should a privately-owned business have the right to refuse service to someone? Yes. Presumably most Americans would agree depending on the reasons why the service is being refused. Therein resides the crux of the various contentions surrounding laws which permit, whether explicitly or implicitly, discrimination by private business owners. When should private business discrimination be permitted under the law?
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