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Published January 26, 2017
This is a rush transcript from "The Kelly File," April 1, 2015. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
MEGYN KELLY, HOST: Joining me now, Fox News senior political analyst Brit Hume. Brit, let's pick up there on the question of which side is being intolerant in this. Because I'm sure there are a lot of folks who support the gay rights movement who say, it's the pizza owner and he is reaping what he sowed.
BRIT HUME, FOX NEW SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, first of all, it's absurd to think anybody's going to have pizza at their wedding. I've never heard of that.
KELLY: What self-respecting gay couple would have pizza -- Bernard, I'll get Bernard on that.
BERNARD WHITMAN, DEMOCRATIC POLLSTER: Absolutely not.
KELLY: All right. Go ahead, Brit.
HUME: But beyond that, this does illustrate the force of this movement and the political power of this movement that this much of a backlash could be stirred against this guy and his little pizzeria out in some town that most Americans and perhaps many Indianans have never heard of. This movement has now achieved something like what one of the things it's always hoped for is something like the consensus, or it hopes like something like the consensus achieved by the original civil rights movement where being a racist has become and has long been one of the worst things that you could be called and one of the worst tags you could be tarred with. Now of course some of that is now applying to people who could be accused, whether fairly or not, of being anti-gay. And that is where we are.
Now, the question arises here with regard to this Indiana law and this man's pizzeria as whether the rights of gays and lesbians to wed and to live with all the normal rights that everyone else has should extend to the point where they nullify this man's rights to exercise his religion. The law, Megyn, in question here simply says that the government cannot substantially burden the exercise of your religion. And if you think that it does, you can go to court to defend your rights. That's what the law does. It doesn't ever mention gay rights. It doesn't mention lesbians. It doesn't mention any of the other groups that fall into the LGBT heading. But an enormous storm has arisen over this.
KELLY: The law doesn't even have to say any of that in Indiana because there's no antidiscrimination law protecting gays and lesbians in Indiana. There are couple of cities that recognize it. But the RFRA in Indiana, this law, Religious Freedom Restoration Act, is basically meaningless when it comes to gays and lesbians in that state because they are not recognized as a protected class.
HUME: That's right. The fact is that the people who may wish to discriminate against gays or lesbians are no more or less able to do that today in Indiana because of this law than they were before it was passed. So you get an idea of the level of the distortion and the deception that has been practiced to bring down this fury on the state of Indiana's governor and this poor pizza guy.
KELLY: Brit, do you think there is room in today's day and age for someone who believes that -- does not believe in gay marriage to maintain that belief?
HUME: I think there is, Megyn. And I think ultimately the law will find that. And the laws will continue to be passed to assert that right. But it has going to be a tremendous battle. And as you can see the corporations of America, some of the main ones, fearing that there is a consensus like that which attaches to racism from the civil rights movement, reacted to this much the way you would expect a company to do and felt like its business was badly jeopardized. You know, Walmart was terrified about the Arkansas law. You see the NCAA was. You see these travel bans being imposed, Apple computers came out --
KELLY: Angie's List.
HUME: Yes. The list goes on. And yes, Angie's List is on it. And this shows you the force of this thing. My own view is that there is a large number of people across this country who are not sympathetic to the way this is going. And Republicans, who some of whom look like they're running scared today, might be well advised to stick to their guns.
KELLY: Brit, good to see you.
HUME: Yes, thanks, Megyn.
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