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Anti-Gay Law Angers Everyone From Miley Cyrus To The NCAA

Photo: Michael Conroy/AP Images.
It only took hours for the backlash to explode against an Indiana law that would make it okay for businesses to turn away LGBT customers for religious reasons. Businesses in the state have already started posting stickers that say, "This business serves everyone," in their front windows to show support for the LGBT community. Celebrities, political and business leaders, and college basketball officials all had harsh words for Gov. Mike Pence after he signed the “religious freedom” bill Thursday. While supporters say that the bill only protects businesses from unfair government intrusion, opponents say it's a ploy to make it legal to discriminate against minorities of all kinds. Miley Cyrus didn't hide her feelings about the news. "You're an asshole, @govmikepence," Cyrus wrote in an Instagram post. "The only place that has more idiots that Instagram is in politics."
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Hillary Clinton also spoke out, saying in a tweet, "We shouldn't discriminate against ppl bc of who they love."
The National Collegiate Athletic Association also weighed in; the NCAA is in the middle of March Madness, and the Final Four games are scheduled to take place in Indianapolis. "The NCAA national office and our members are deeply committed to providing an inclusive environment for all our events.  We are especially concerned about how this legislation could affect our student-athletes and employees," the NCAA president said in a statement. The Fault in our Stars writer John Green, an Indiana native, called the news "horrific."
Before Pence signed the bill, some companies threatened to take their business out of Indiana; the CEO of Salesforce, a $4 billion company based in San Francisco, has already announced he was canceling all events that would send his employees to the state. Many other states are also arguing over similar proposals, which have sprung up as same-sex marriage has become legal in states across the country. Four women were arrested while protesting Georgia's religious freedom bill, which opponents fear could allow an employer to fire someone for having an abortion. Two of those women, Emma Stitt and Jessica Reznicek have refused bond and have vowed to stay in jail until the bill is defeated. They may not have to wait long — on Thursday night, progress on the bill stalled, and if it isn't approved by April 2, it will die. According to the Associated Press, Georgia businesses have asked lawmakers not to pass the bill, saying it will discourage tourism and make the state seem "unwelcoming" to LGBT people and other minorities. Even as more lawmakers press for these bills, it's been a struggle to actually pass them. One major Christian church in Indiana said it would boycott its historic home if the bill passed. Out of 22 attempts in 13 states this year to pass these so-called religious freedom bills, Indiana's was the only one to become a law. The U.S. Supreme Court will consider same-sex marriage in April, and its ruling could potentially legalize it throughout the country. 

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