Page 23 - Perception Problem News Today

>> i think generally, yeah, the answer is i think they are entitled to equal rights and equal acceptance 100%. in the eyes of the law. >> now, the zbovrner . >> now, the governor of indiana says he wanteds the to fix the law. however, there is no law on the table. >> yesterday he said this is a perception problem, not a legal problem. the biggest minds in business and they are veryir high-paid legal teams are saying no, its a problem and you should fix it. the defense rests in the boston marat...

Protesters gather in little rock tuesday, calling on the governor there to veto a bill just passed by the arkansas house. there is growing opposition from businesses in that state including walmart which is headquartered there. indianas governor mike pence, promised to fix the religious freedom law in his state. he claims it is not a license to discriminate but he does admit there is what he calls a perception problem. lets get more now from cnns miguel marquez. >> reporter: christine, john fast...

Not about discrimination, it doesnt apply to a civil rights lawsuit. that actually is not hard. if governor pence or the people in arkansas are -- want to fix their statute, its a paragraph. you could adopt it in ten minutes. i dont anticipate that will happen. >> matthew tully, your newspaper had an extraordinary cover today, front page editorial about this law in indiana demanding action from the governor. tell us how that came about. it must have been an extraordinary decision for the newspap...

How do you think the governor did here? >> i was watching a governor tap dance and deliver what i call kind of -- i was thinking of it as a modified surrender, rather than a surrender. because what he was saying -- and modified surrenders dont really make anybody happy because he kept saying that it was a perception problem, that the law had been mischaracterized, the law had been smeared. nobody intended in the law to discriminate in they way, shape or form and then he says were going to have a...

Not willing to provide flowers in a public marketplace for my commitment ceremony, even though gay marriage is legal in indiana, what this law does, unlike any other law in any other state and unlike the federal government is it allows somebody to have a defense to a discrimination claim. and so before he starts to fix it, i suggest that the governor reads it, kate and john. >> ross, i want to bring you in here because before you were saying there was a misunderstanding on the law. that was the ...

To use his language, a perception problem by reckless reporting. >> hes done better than he did in previous interviews where he left open the question whether discrimination against lgbt people in indiana would be allowed. he tried to clean that up. the issue of perception no matter what he did today, youre going to see democrats make this about discrimination. they are going to say this is not a religious issue, purely a discrimination issue. we know democrats will be pushing republicans to wei...

Compelling interest in combatting discrimination. and i support that interpretation. >> okay. eric? >> so were hearing right there from governor mike pence of indiana, taking some questions from reporters. going for about 35 minutes. talking about this problem, the problem he calls a perception problem with the religious freedom bill that has caused so much controversy in the state of indiana and far beyond. a lot to talk about because he said quite a bit. margaret hoover is here with us. youve ...

Talking about the fact that this law had been smeared, that there was a perception problem, that there was preconceived notions about what it actually did. and he said were going to come up with some kind of fix. he didnt specify what the fix was. and he was clearly a governor tap dancing because his state is set to lose millions and millions of dollars in revenue. the ncaa is complaining. nascar is complaining. as you pointed out. and hes trying to balance that with his conservative brand. hes ...

Perception problem here, because some people have a different view. and we intend to correct that. after much reflection, and in consultation with leadership of the general assembly, ive come to the conclusion that it would be helpful to move legislation this week to makes it clear that this law does not give businesses a right to deny services to anyone. let me say that again. i think it would be helpful, and i would like to see on my desk before the end of this week legislation that is added t...

And i believe every hoosier shares that conviction. but as i said weve got a perception problem here because some people have a different view. and we intend to correct that. >> yes, there are other states that have similar religious freedom laws but indianas law stands out because it does allow a person even a business to cite religious beliefs as a legal defense in private disputes. that is even if the government is not in any way involved. indianas largest newspaper "the indianapolis star," i...