Fiorina denounces Indiana law ‘frenzy’

Carly Fiorina joined other potential Republican presidential hopefuls in supporting Indiana’s controversial religious freedom law, but she expressed more openness to gay rights in an interview published Thursday.

“We are having now a clarifying debate about what is really at stake here for gay couples,” Fiorina told USA Today.

{mosads}She compared gay couples who want equal benefits and religious people who believe that marriage can only be between a man and a woman.

“Both of those points of view are valid, and I really hope that we come to a place in this country where we are prepared to have respectful differences and tolerate those two views.”

She called liberals “shameful” for galvanizing criticism over Indiana’s religious freedom law, which some claim would allow businesses to deny services to LGBT people based on religious beliefs.

“I honestly believe this is a set of liberal political activists who practice a game of identity politics and divisive politics to whip people into a frenzy,” she said.

“I think it’s very destructive to the fabric of this country.”

The Indiana Legislature is set to approve a fix to its law to add discrimination protections.

Fiorina also questioned the strong criticism over the law, criticizing businesses and the public for taking one stance at home while ignoring issues abroad.

“It’s interesting to me that there isn’t the same outrage in the Twitterverse about the subjugation of the rights of women and gays in many countries in which these companies do business,” she said.

“Where is the outrage about that? Where is the outrage about how gays are treated in Iran, for example? Where is the outrage about how women are treated in Algeria?”

Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, is weighing a long-shot GOP bid for president. She’s polling well behind other potential candidates, but would almost certainly be the only woman in the Republican field.