Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear said Kentucky's religious freedom law similar to one signed by Indiana Gov. Mike Pence last week should be clarified to include protections for the LGBT community.
But the governor of this conservative state is also asking the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold Kentucky's ban on same-sex marriage, highlighting the peculiar politics facing some southern Democrats fighting to maintain power in a region awash with Republican votes.
Kentucky's law protects a person's right to act or refuse to act as long as it is motivated by a sincerely held religious belief. Beshear vetoed the law but the legislature overrode him.
Last week, Beshear through his attorneys told the U.S. Supreme Court that Kentucky's same-sex marriage ban does not discriminate because it prevents straight and gay people from marrying someone of the same sex.