CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates says he believes so-called “religious freedom” laws are not about discrimination.
Instead, Speaker Tim Armstead (R-Kanawha, 40) said the laws in general offer protections to business owners and other service providers with true beliefs.
“You still have a number of people in West Virginia who have religious objections to those issues (like same sex marriage) and those religious objections are rooted in our Constitution and the constitutional right to freely exercise your religious beliefs,” Armstead said.
Earlier this week, lawmakers in Arkansas approved a version of a “religious freedom” law. On Wednesday, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he would not sign the bill in its current form.
It’s similar to the law Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed last week, but was pledging to revisit following complaints from across the U.S. about how expansive it is.
Supporters of the legislation have argued it protects business owners who refuse service to people based on their religious beliefs, but critics claimed it would open the door to legal discrimination against people, especially discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Mountain State is not yet fully wading into the fray.
Two versions of the West Virginia Freedom of Conscience Protection Act were introduced during the 2015 Regular Legislative Session, but neither advanced out of the House Judiciary Committee.
As written, those proposed bills said that “in all cases where state action burdens the exercise of religion, strict scrutiny is applied and to provide a claim or defense to a person or persons whose exercise of religion is burdened by state action.”
“I think it’s something that we still have a great deal of discussion that needs to take place throughout this process,” Armstead said of the issue on Wednesday’s MetroNews “Talkline.”
In all, 20 states have forms of “religious freedom” laws.
President Bill Clinton signed the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law in 1993, ensuring that “interests in religious freedom are protected.”