Senate President Bill Cole speaks after a 27-7 vote against the amended HB 4012 in the Senate on Wednesday. The amendment added Tuesday extended protections to LGBT West Virginians.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — After weeks of contentious debate between LGBT rights supporters and social conservatives, the West Virginia Senate rejected the Religious Freedom Protection Act.
House Bill 4012, formerly called the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, was voted down on a 27-7 vote Wednesday afternoon, after being amended Tuesday to include protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender West Virginians.
The bill would have established a legal process for courts to follow when people or businesses believed governmental action was violating their religious beliefs.
The law would have established a balancing test for courts to use when determining if someone was being substantially burdened by governmental action, and whether the state had “compelling governmental interest” in ensuring the law was followed.
Civil rights advocates opposed the bill because “governmental action” could have included civil rights laws, including local nondiscrimination ordinances that extend protections to LGBT residents.
Hoping to ease those concerns, senators had amended the bill Tuesday…