[6][7] The law's signing was met with criticism by such organizations as the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Tim Cook (CEO of Apple Inc.), Subaru of America, the gamer convention Gen Con, and the Disciples of Christ.

[14][15] Greg Ballard, the Republican mayor of Indianapolis, called on the legislature to repeal the law, or add explicit protections for sexual orientation and gender identity.

[19][20] Politifact reports that "Conservatives in Indiana and elsewhere see the Religious Freedom Restoration Act as a vehicle for fighting back against the legalization of same-sex marriage.

He called for "an audit to ensure that federal dollars were no longer being given to organizations that celebrate and encourage the types of behaviors that facilitate the spreading of the HIV virus".

"[31] Pence opposed the 2009 Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act stating that Obama would "advance a radical social agenda"[32] and said that pastors "could be charged or be subject to intimidation for simply expressing a Biblical worldview on the issue of homosexual behavior.

In 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court in City of Boerne v. Flores held that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act only applies to the federal government, but not states and other local municipalities within them.

In 2014, the United States Supreme Court handed down a landmark decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. recognizing a for-profit corporation's claim of religious belief.

[43] According to Law professor Garrett Epps this means "first, that the Indiana statute explicitly recognizes that a for-profit corporation has “free exercise” rights matching those of individuals or churches.

[43][21] Taken together these two difference reveal that contrary to the federal RFRA and its state counter parts Indiana Senate Bill 101 was "carefully written to make clear that 1) businesses can use it against 2) civil-rights suits brought by individuals.

[60] The announcement immediately triggered a heated backlash against Memories Pizza; Yelp users took to the platform to condemn the pizzeria and its owners, resulting in a review average of one out of five stars.

[63][64] Indiana Pastors Alliance Executive Director Rob Johnson Jr. said of the public and media's response to the bill, "This is a false narrative created by the left to say that we are somehow evil people by embracing biblical beliefs.

[16] Ballard, along with four other living mayors of Indianapolis Richard Lugar, William H. Hudnut III, Stephen Goldsmith, and Bart Peterson stated that they are "distressed and very concerned" at the fallout of the bill.

[69] James Danko, the president of Butler University, called the bill "ill-conceived legislation at best" and commented, "No matter your opinion of the law, it is hard to argue with the fact it has done significant damage to our state.

"[72] Nine CEOs from Angie's List, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Anthem Inc., Eli Lilly and Company, Cummins, Emmis Communications, Roche Diagnostics, Indiana University Health, and Dow AgroSciences called on the Republican leadership to enact legislation to prevent "discrimination based upon sexual orientation or gender identity.

[78] Mark Emmert, president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), issued a statement that expressed concern at how student-athletes, employees, and visitors would be treated and stated they "intend to closely examine the implications of this bill and how it might affect future events as well as our workforce.

"[82][83] Bo Ryan, John Calipari, Tom Izzo, and Mike Krzyzewski released a statement though the National Association of Basketball Coaches ahead of a Final Four match in Indiana that "discrimination of any kind should not be tolerated".

[84] ESPN's Keith Olbermann called on the National Football League (NFL) and the NCAA to drop Indiana as a venue for major events.

"[90] On March 31, 2015, the Indianapolis Star published a front-page editorial titled "Fix This Now", which called for an offsetting law prohibiting discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation.

[91] Possible Republican presidential candidates Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Bobby Jindal, Rick Santorum, Ted Cruz, and Ben Carson have all defended the law.

[95] Micah Clark from the evangelical lobby group American Family Association stated that adding anti-discrimination language "could totally destroy this bill.

"[102] Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.com, described the bill as an "outrage" and announced that the company would cancel all programs that require customers or employees to travel to Indiana.

[103][104][105] Angie's List announced that they would cancel a $40 million expansion of their Indianapolis-based headquarters due to concerns over the law, that would have moved 1000 jobs into the state.

[114] The mayors of New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, and Oakland (all Democrats) lifted their city-funded travel ban on April 7, 2015.

[115] A bill intended to provide protections for LGBT customers, employees, and tenants was proposed by Senate President David C. Long and House Speaker Brian Bosma on April 2, 2015 and was subsequently passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Pence.

[120] Greg Ballard endorsed the changes, and suggested on CNN that Christian lobby groups like Advance America and the American Family Association are "on the wrong side of history in this.

[3] Georgia State Rep. Stacey Evans, D-Smryna, proposed an amendment to change references of "persons" to "individuals," which would have eliminated corporations from the protection of the bill.

State Rep. Barry Fleming, R-Harlem, noted that such a move would negate the "closely held corporation" protection granted last year by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Hobby Lobby case.

Molly White introduced a bill that would expressly grant private businesses the right to "refuse to provide goods or services to any person based on a sincerely held religious belief or on conscientious grounds."