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Business groups say survey confirm fears

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – The Latest on a tourism group that says Indiana may have lost as much as $60 million due at least in part to the state’s religious objections law (all times local):

12 p.m.

Indiana’s business community is swiftly reacting to a report indicating the state may have lost $60 million after a dozen conventions picked cities other than Indianapolis amid uproar over the state’s controversial religious objections law.

The Associated Press first reported on Monday the results of a survey conducted by the tourism group Visit Indy. The group polled conventions that located elsewhere after critics said the religious objections law sanctioned discrimination against gay people.

John Mills, a spokesman for diesel equipment manufacturer Cummins Inc., says he was “not surprised” by the numbers. Mills says the findings by Visit Indy confirm that the law damaged the state’s economy.

The Republican-backed law garnered quick national backlash after it was signed by Gov. Mike Pence in March.

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1 a.m.

Tourism officials say Indiana may have lost as much as $60 million in revenue after a dozen conventions picked cities other than Indianapolis amid the uproar over the state’s controversial religious objections law.

A document prepared by tourism group Visit Indy shows that the 12 out-of-state groups were surveyed and all said the controversial law played a role in their decisions to locate their events elsewhere.

The document was obtained by The Associated Press ahead of its formal release Thursday.

The Republican-backed law garnered quick national backlash after it was signed by Gov. Mike Pence in March, with critics saying it sanctioned discrimination against gay people on religious grounds.

Some changes were made, but critics say the law doesn’t go far enough to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.