Most Americans side with gays in religious freedom disputes: Reuters/Ipsos poll

By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A majority of Americans believe businesses should not be allowed to refuse services based on their religious beliefs in the wake of controversies in Indiana and Arkansas over gay rights and religious freedom, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found on Thursday. Indiana's Republican governor, Mike Pence, triggered a firestorm in his state this month by signing a law that would allow businesses to refuse services to certain groups or people based on their religious beliefs. Gay rights activists saw the law as discriminatory and the resulting backlash forced Indiana's state legislature to make changes to the law. Days later, Arkansas's Republican governor, Asa Hutchinson, forced his state legislature to change a similar law in order to avoid having it blow up into a controversy in his state.

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