Republican candidates running for House of Delegates in 13th and 22nd districts said they support bringing back a "religious freedom" bill in the West Virginia Legislature, even though similar measures have sparked a backlash in other states like North Carolina and Mississippi.
"I think the bill was misunderstood," said Delegate Michel Moffatt, R-Putnam, who's seeking re-election in the House 22nd District. "It's been twisted and turned. It's not a license to discriminate."
Critics of religious freedom bills say such measures allow businesses to discriminate against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people. North Carolina's bill requires transgender people to use public restrooms that correspond with the gender listed on their birth certificate.
After North Carolina's law was enacted, PayPal, an online money-moving company, scrapped plans to bring 400 jobs to the state.
Asked whether he would welcome a PayPal expansion into West Virginia, Moffatt said, "Absolutely not. They're feeling the pressure and not willing to stand up for religious rights."
Moffat blasted PayPal's decision to rebuff North Carolina, calling the company "hypocritical."
"They're operating in 25 countries that persecute gays, that hang them in the streets," Moffatt said. "Yet they're pulling out of North Carolina? Shame on them."
Delegate Michael Ihle, R-Jackson, who's running for re-election in the 13th District, said he wouldn't bar PayPal from bringing jobs to West Virginia, but he supports resurrecting a religious freedom bill. During this year's legislative session, the House passed the so-called "Religious Freedom Restoration Act," but the state Senate rejected the legislation.
Ihle voted for the bill earlier this year.
"This is not just about Christians. It's about all faiths," Ihle said. "The bill actually fits in with the values these companies are purporting to hold. I think they just don't realize it."
Joshua Higginbotham, a 19-year-old college student running in the 13th District, said a religious freedom bill might spur people to come to West Virginia, not scare them away.
"We should be protecting religious minorities, and this bill did that," said Higginbotham, a former youth pastor. "We need to have the appearance we're open to everybody. The religious freedom law would have helped protect those minorities."
Kathie Crouse, a microbiologist and Republican candidate in the 13th District, also supports passage of a religious freedom law in West Virginia.
"I'd like to see it come up again, and I'd vote for it," Crouse said.
Crouse, Higginbotham, Ihle and Moffatt spoke with Gazette-Mail editors Wednesday. Two other GOP candidates in the 13th District - Robert Marchal and Amanda Cadle - did not attend. Moffatt's two opponents in the 22nd District Republican primary - Zack Maynard and Eric Johnson - also skipped the meeting.
On other topics, the four candidates in attendance said they would oppose raising West Virginia's tobacco tax - or any other taxes for that matter - to help balance the state budget. State lawmakers face a $270 million shortfall in the 2016-17 budget.
"I don't support any new taxes," Crouse said. "The more taxes, the more people leave the state, and the more people we lose, the more taxes the state is going to want to take, and we're just going to continue that cycle. We need to fix this."
Ihle said a cigarette tax hike wasn't the "adult solution" to the state's budget woes.
"It's a cash grab," said Ihle, who also serves as Ravenswood mayor. "It's one of the most crass and craven politically designed instruments that's out there, picking on a politically weak and unpopular group ... to balance our budget."
Ihle and Moffatt said raising cigarette taxes by 45 cents a pack, as Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has proposed, would not deter people from smoking. West Virginia has one of the highest smoking rates in the country.
"Those who are addicted to cigarettes and haven't quit yet are addicted," Moffatt said. "I think smoking is wrong, but I don't think it's the government's role to say what you're doing is wrong."
Higginbotham and other candidates said that the state should be slashing spending and lowering taxes. They also praised the Legislature for passing a "voter ID" law that requires voters to show identification when they go to the polls, starting in 2018.
"We should be showing an ID before we vote," Higginbotham said.
The 13th District of the House of Delegates stretches across northern Putnam and Mason counties and into a corner of Jackson. The 22nd District covers parts of Putnam, Lincoln, Logan and Boone counties. Each district has two seats in the 100-member House.
Reach Eric Eyre at ericeyre@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4869 or follow @ericeyre on Twitter.