Senator Sherrod Brown says it's true there has been a federal religious freedom law on the books for two decades. But he says it's not the same as the law Indiana's Governor recently signed.
Brown: "The 1993 law was about the government with citizens and protecting citizen's in terms of interaction with the government. The Indiana law, very different, is between the private sector and individual people."
Brown says the Indiana law would allow businesses to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Ohio's Republican Senator, Rob Portman, has not yet made a statement to Ohio Public Radio on the subject.
Brown joined city officials from Canton, Columbus and Dayton at a Statehouse event Wednesday encouraging Indiana businesses to relocate to Ohio.