Mike Pence: 'I abhor discrimination'

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence took to national airwaves Tuesday to defend his state's newly enacted religious freedom law, saying bluntly: Hoosiers aren't biased against "gays," and neither is he.

"I abhor discrimination," the Republican governor said in a "Fox & Friends" segment. "If I was in a restaurant and saw a business owner deny service to someone because they are gay, frankly, I wouldn't eat there any more."

He made the appearance amid activists' outcry over a new law in Indiana that has generated widespread controversy, with critics claiming it's simply a government thumbs-up to discriminate against "gays."

Supporters of the law, however, say it's just underscoring the First Amendment to keep government from encroaching and demanding business owners act against their religious beliefs.

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Pence made clear in the Fox News interview and in a just-published Wall Street Journal op-ed that the law, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, would not give way to skewed interpretations and pressing political agendas.

Read "Counter Culture," and consider whether the arguments today about same-sex "marriage," abortion and more are not really about those subjects. What if the main issue is God?

"The law has stirred a controversy and in recent days has been grossly misconstrued as a 'license to discriminate.'" he wrote in the Wall Street Journal. "The law is not a 'license to discriminate' either in Indiana or elsewhere. In fact, [it] reflects federal law, as well as law in 30 states nationwide."

He also wrote of his belief in the "Golden Rule, that you should 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you.'"

Pence also affirmed the existence of similar laws in 19 other states and said Indiana decided to consider the measure because of Obamacare and "renewed concerns about government infringement on deeply held religious beliefs," as evidence in the Hobby Lobby court battle.

Both Hobby Lobby and the University of Notre Dame launched successful legal challenges to Obamacare rules requiring they provide certain types of insurance coverages that conflicted with their religious views.

"With the Supreme Court's ruling, the need for a [Religious Freedom Restoration Act] became more important, as the federal law does not apply to states," Pence wrote. "To ensure that religious liberty is fully protected under Indiana law, this year the General Assembly enshrined these principles in Indiana law. I fully supported that action."