Jeb Bush Changes View On Indiana's Religious Freedom Law After Meeting With Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff In San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, a likely presidential candidate in 2016, was in San Francisco on Thursday, raising money from venture capitalists.
But he also met privately with Salesforce CEO Mark Benioff, who has led a corporate campaign against Indiana's religious freedom law. Benioff said Bush now backs the changes Indiana lawmakers made to ensure businesses can't use the law to refuse to serve people based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
"The change happened through the power of social media, through mobility, and also by people who have a voice using it," Benioff said. "I think maybe a door has opened that other people will continue to make these statements and move these things forward."
Bush did not speak with the media on Thursday, but had previously said he was a staunch supporter of the law, and that Indiana Governor Mike Pence was right to sign it, and that it was not discriminatory.
Pence approved changes to the law on Thursday. He had asked lawmakers to clarify language earlier this week as businesses canceled conventions and governments banned travel to the state.
The reversal of position for Bush could hamper his efforts to sell himself as to social conservatives, many of whom already see him as too moderate.
But it is a big victory for Benioff, who has been key in mobilizing other business leaders to make this happen.
