Raisin cookies that look like chocolate chip cookies are the main reason I have trust issues.

Would you? Could you?

Indiana Governor Mike Pence is getting his 15 minutes of fame. At least he hopes it's only 15 minutes. Signing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law last week brought condemnation from national political leaders, sports figures, business leaders and, today, a few thousand protestors in Indianapolis shouting slogans like, "No hate in our state."

The outcry against Indiana's RFRA is surprising for a number of reasons. First, it's almost identical to a federal RFRA passed by Congress and signed by President Clinton in 1993. Interestingly, that legislation was sponsored by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), one of the critics of Indiana's law. Both laws say that government can compel someone to act in contradiction to their religious beliefs only if it "furthers a compelling government interest" and "is the least restrictive means of doing so."

Note: the courts have ruled that the federal law doesn't apply to the states, only to issues at the federal level, like the Affordable Care Act. That's why Indiana's passed their own RFRA, the most recent of 20 states to do so.

Another puzzling aspect of the outcry against the Indiana law is that it does not sanction discrimination against homosexuals. As written the law protects the business owner against being forced by the state to do something that violates religious conscience. The isolated wedding photographer who declines the business of a gay couple for reasons of conscience cannot be legitimately compared to the racial discrimination of the Jim Crow south.

If businesses must serve any and all comers what should we do with:

• "No shoes, no shirt, no service"
• Sororities
• Golf courses that require a collared shirt
• Restaurants that require neckties
• AARP
• USAA Insurance, serving only vets and their families

Homosexuals are the minority du jour, a status gained in part because they have supporters in the media and entertainment industries. Religious fundamentalists don't enjoy public favor, though they outnumber gays by a very wide margin. That difference promises to keep this issue in the news as more fly-over states pass their own versions of the RFRA. 

How does the kerfuffle end? One path takes it to the courts, where the Supreme Court ruling on the Hobby Lobby case suggests RFRA legislation at the state level will survive. And again, Indiana's law and the 19 others currently on the books in other states are almost word-for-word the same as the federal statute. 

Another course takes it to the people through the referendum process, and it that case it would depend on which state you're in. California? Texas? 

In the meantime we can count on more heated rhetoric from those who support a gay rights agenda, with specious comparisons to racism and the Nazis, and the use of words like hate and bigotry. Welcome to the new reality, where the rights of an individual to act according to his/her religious convictions comes in a distant second to the gay rights agenda.