Some of the hundreds of people who gathered outside the Indiana Statehouse on Saturday, March 28, 2015, for a rally against legislation signed Thursday by Gov. Mike Pence stand on the Statehouse's south steps during the 2-hour-long rally. The law's opponents say it could sanction discrimination against gay people. The law's supporters contend the discrimination claims are overblown and insist it will keep the government from compelling people to provide services they find objectionable on religious grounds.Rick Callahan/The Associated Press
Erik Deckers won't spend another minute of his time promoting Indiana.
For six years he worked as a part-time travel writer for the state's tourism website, taking in the sites, the people, the towns and cities – promoting anything visitors might want to see from Wolf Park in Tippecanoe County in the northwest to the Heartland Historic Baseball Trail, which follows Interstate 64 as it meanders along the Ohio river in the south.
Mr. Deckers, 47, loved his job at VisitIndiana.com, but last week he decided he couldn't, in good conscience, keep doing it.
"I didn't feel right when Indiana is going to become a less inviting place." Mr. Deckers said. "I didn't feel right about working for the state government and trying to invite people to come … visit Indiana when they weren't all welcome."
Last Thursday, Indiana Governor Mike Pence signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law. The legislation will allow businesses to turn customers away if they offend their religious beliefs. The law's supporters, including Mr. Pence, say the legislation will protect people's religious beliefs, while critics warn it will allow businesses to openly discriminate against the gay community.
"Hotel owners and B&B owners could refuse to let a gay couple stay with them," Mr. Deckers said. "Restaurants could turn away a gay couple, or even just a gay person from coming in. They could say my religion does not permit me to serve you."
Mr. Deckers, a straight man, joins a host of others who are actively protesting the move. As business opposition mounts, a potential hit to the state's relatively small tourism industry may not be law's the only fallout.
In an op-ed to The Washington Post, Apple Inc. chief executive Tim Cook spoke out against the law, calling it "dangerous" and legislation that will allow "people to discriminate against their neighbours." Mr. Cook then outlined Apple's stance on the issue.
"Our message," Mr. Cook said, "to people around the country and around the world, is this: Apple is open. Open to everyone, regardless of where they come from, what they look like, how they worship or who they love. Regardless of what the law might allow in Indiana or Arkansas, we will never tolerate discrimination."
Mr. Cook pointed to his own religious upbringing and explained that while faith has always been an important part of his life, he does not believe religion should be used as an excuse to discriminate. While Mr. Cook, who came out as gay last year, restrained his actions to criticism, Marc Benioff, the founder and CEO of Salesforce Inc. announced his company would boycott Indiana entirely.
"Today we are cancelling all programs that require our customers/employees to travel to Indiana to face discrimination," Mr. Benioff said via Twitter.
Despite the storm of condemnation that's descended on Indiana legislators, it's not the only state that's enacted or tabled legislation aimed at protecting people's religious freedom. Such legislation exists on the books of 20 U.S. states and other states are currently reviewing their own versions.
Jeremy Stoppelman, CEO of Yelp Inc., also spoke out against the law and challenged Arkansas – a state considering passing legislation – to vote down the measure.
"These laws set a terrible precedent that will likely harm the broader economic health of the states where they have been adopted, the businesses currently operating in those states and, most importantly, the consumers who could be victimized under these laws," Mr. Stoppelman said in a blog post.
The NCAA, which will host the men's Final Four basketball tournament next week in Indiana, also commented on the RFRA.
"We will work diligently to assure student-athletes competing in, and visitors attending, next week's men's Final Four in Indianapolis are not impacted negatively by this bill," NCAA president Mark Emmert said in a statement. "Moving forward, we intend to closely examine the implications of this bill and how it might affect future events as well as our workforce."
Proponents and critics will have to wait and see if other businesses join Salesforce's Indiana boycott or if the condemnation of the law remains verbal.
For his part, Mr. Deckers is not ready to give up on Indiana. He believes there are good people in the state and that the legislation is a result of a few "out of touch politicians."
"I still believe that we have good people with good hearts in this state, I believe that they care about everybody."