White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Wednesday that President Obama could not believe that a state legislature in the 21st century would pass a religious freedom act like Indiana's.

EARNEST: I do think in the mind of the president, the thought that we would have state legislatures in the 21st century in the United States of America passing laws that would use religion to try to justify discriminating against people for who they love is unthinkable.

Earnest's comments came after Indiana Gov. Mike Pence requested a "clarification" of the language of the law to make sure that it would not allow for discriminatory business practices.

This is not the first time Earnest has portrayed the law is deliberately designed to codify discrimination; Tuesday, he bristled at comparisons between Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the one signed by Bill Clinton in 1993, which it was modeled on. The difference, Earnest explained, was that while the '93 law was designed to protect "religious minorities" and individuals, Indiana's was "much broader," and thus apparently protected too many people, applying not just to "religious minorities" but even evil corporations:

EARNEST: Governor Pence has tried to falsely suggest that the law that was signed in Indiana was the same as the law that was passed on the federal level in 1993. That is not true. And, the reason that’s not true is the 1993 law as an effort to try to protect the religious liberty of religious minorities based on actions that could be taken by the federal government. The Indiana law is much broader. It doesn’t just apply to individuals or religious minorities. It applies to a partnership, a limited liability company, a corporation, a company, a firm, a society, a joint stock company or an unincorporated association. It leaves open the question what type of religious views a joint stock company would may hold.

Update: Indiana legislators announced amendments to the embattled religious freedom bill Thursday in order to ensure that the law could not be used by businesses as an excuse to discriminate against customers based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The Indy Star provides a summary of the changes:

The proposal goes much further than a "preamble" that was proposed earlier in the week, and, if it stands, would be the first time any protections against discrimination have been extended to gays and lesbians in state law. But it doesn't go as far as establishing gays and lesbians as a protected class of citizens statewide or repealing the law outright, both things that Republican leaders have said they could not support.

A draft circulated early Wednesday said that the new "religious freedom" law does not authorize a provider — including businesses or individuals — to refuse to offer or provide its services, facilities, goods, or public accommodation to any member of the public based on sexual orientation or gender identity, in addition to race, color, religion, ancestry, age, national origin, disability, sex, or military service.