West Virginia business groups oppose RFRA, support lawmakers who voted for it

Business groups in West Virginia and some of the state’s largest corporations are organizing to head off any new “religious freedom” laws, which opponents say allow discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

But while the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce and several companies that joined the new anti-discrimination group Opportunity West Virginia continue to oppose such legislation, campaign finance reports show some are incidentally helping to fund lawmakers who sponsored and voted for the 2016 “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” or RFRA.

The Chamber PAC, the group’s political spending arm, has given at least $28,000 to 38 lawmakers in the West Virginia House of Delegates who are running for re-election and voted for the controversial bill, which has come under fire after other states lost millions of dollars after passing similar legislation.

The Chamber’s spending includes a total of $3,000 to five of the delegates that sponsored the 2016 bill. That includes Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay; Terry Waxman, R-Harrison; Rupie Phillips, D-Logan; John O’Neal, R-Raleigh; and House Speaker Tim Armstead, R-Kanawha.

Read more: http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news-politics/20161016/wv-business-groups-oppose-rfra-support-lawmakers-who-voted-for-it