Back To The Drawing Board

With the outrage in Indiana and Arkansas (not to mention corporate America moving jobs elsewhere as a result) Nevada Republicans have killed their version of "religious freedom" legislation for now.

Nevada legislation criticized as giving businesses and corporations a license to discriminate against gay customers appears to have fizzled in light of nationwide outrage over similar “religious freedom” bills in Arkansas and Indiana.

Silver State officials opposing the bill in Carson City gained a high-profile backer late Thursday.

“The Governor believes that this bill is not necessary because the interests of all Nevadans are protected under current law,” Mari St. Martin, spokeswoman for Gov. Brian Sandoval said Thursday night.

Even the bill sponsors are backing away from it.

“After careful reflection and consultation with legislative counsel, I have determined that Nevada’s Constitution already contains adequate safeguards and protections for the civil liberties of Nevada’s citizens, and further legislative emphasis of these rights would be unnecessary,” freshman legislator and Assembly Judiciary Committee Vice Chairman Erven Nelson, R-Las Vegas, said Thursday.

The reaction to Indiana’s legislation was a factor in deciding to withdraw the bill, Nelson said.

“We obviously do not want to have happen in Nevada what’s been threatened to happen in Indiana as far as a boycott and things like that.”

If this isn't the final piece of evidence that the entire point of Indiana's RFRA bill was to codify discrimination against LGBTQ Americans, don't know what is.  But the almighty dollar has a lot of power in a tourism-heavy state like Nevada, and given the mess Indiana is now in, Nevada doesn't want squat to do with that fight.

So back to the drawing board until red states can find a way to discriminate again.  It's what Republicans do, you know...and the next state looks to be Louisiana.