Florida Gov. Rick Scott has signed the so called Pastor Protection Act. The measure specifies that clergy and churches cannot be sued for declining to participate in a marriage that violates their beliefs.
Critics of the measure say it isn’t needed since religious freedom is protected under the U.S. Constitution. And members of the LGBT, or Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender, community called the legislation mean-spirited. But LGBT advocacy group, Equality Florida, removed its opposition to the bill after lawmakers approved an amendment. Spokesman Carlos Guillermo Smith says the amendment more clearly defined what entities fall under the bill’s protections.
“And the reason we supported it is because it removed vague and overly broad language that was already in the bill and replaced it with a very clear subset of entities that are already covered by law,” Smith says.
Lawmakers who sponsored the measure say they hope it will never get used. The law goes into effect July 1.
