WaPo: Hillary's Position on Religious Freedom Law Clashes With Law Signed by Bill ill
Melanie Batley
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has spoken out against the religious freedom measures put into motion by Indiana and Arkansas in keeping with her party but her position puts her in opposition to a similar law signed by Bill Clinton when he was president, according to The Washington Post.
Clinton has made a number of comments denouncing the Indiana legislation. In a tweet last week, she described its passage as "sad news" and discriminatory against homosexuals. She also said the Arkansas law would permit unfair discrimination against LBGT Americans.
But in signing the law, Indiana GOP Gov. Mike Pence pointed to the 1993 federal law as the basis for his state's law, the Post said. And he pointed out that Illinois approved a similar law that had the backing of Barack Obama when he was a state senator.
Democrats insist, however, that there are significant differences between the new laws and the law signed by Bill Clinton. They argue that the original law was designed to protect individual religious expression but the new measures are designed to protect employers or service providers who are opposed to gay rights.
"For Hillary Clinton, the fact that the text of the laws is so similar could be uncomfortable as she begins a presidential race that will cast her as a policymaker in her own right, proud of her husband's accomplishments but independent of his legacy," the Post said.
Andrienne Watson, communications director for the pro-Clinton research group Correct the Record, said Hillary Clinton was not distancing herself from the law signed by her husband, arguing that those who claim otherwise are guilty of spin.
"There's no way to say credibly that the Indiana or Arkansas law is substantially the same as the nearly 25-year-old RFRA law, and those who say so are falling for the far right's spin," she said.
"The Indiana and Arkansas laws are bad legislation and Hillary Clinton has battled such discrimination against the LGBT community and other minorities throughout her life," Watson said.
Clinton's spokesman, Nick Merrill, also drew a distinction between the laws.
"They're different laws in different times with a different intent," he said.
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Hillary-Clinton-Bill-Clinton-law-religious-freedom/2015/04/03/id/636328/