Economics, Law, LGBTQ, News, Politicians Behaving Badly, Politics, Religion

‘Religious Freedom’ Isn’t Free - Indiana Spends $2 Million On PR To Fix RFRA Backlash

Governor Mike Pence is convinced that the controversy over Indiana’s legalized discrimination has passed and that brighter skies are ahead for his state.

Pence told reporters that “the difficult time that Indiana just passed through two weeks ago is behind us.”

Pence is under the impression that the passage of a couple of weeks of time has healed the wounds he created when he signed the bigoted law last month. Or is he?

One day prior to his comments, Pence hired a global public relations firm to stem the bleeding and repair the state’s damaged reputation. The firm, Porter Novelli, will rake in $2 million of taxpayer money for Pence’s lack of judgement.

The move comes after numerous businesses, sporting enterprises, and marketing firms called for an all-out boycott of Indiana after it was revealed that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act left the LGBT community open to discrimination with no legal recourse. Since then, Republican lawmakers have been forced to pass a revision that states that the legislation can’t be used to bypass ordinances that protect the LGBT community from discrimination in Indianapolis and 10 other cities.

The law stands as originally written in the rest of the state.

State Senate Minority Leader Tim Lanane (D-Anderson) proposed an amendment to the state budget to have create a committee to study the possibility of adding statewide protections from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

“This is an issue that’s not going to go away,” Lanane said. “We’re going to have to deal with it.”

Republicans shot down the amendment on a 40-10 party-line vote.

Rep. Ed DeLaney, D-Indianapolis, also proposed an amendment to an unrelated bill in the House that would add statewide LGBT protections from discrimination in housing, employment, education and public accommodation. That effort failed on a 66-24 vote to uphold a ruling that it wasn’t closely enough related to the original bill.

It seems Indiana still has a very long way to go.

H/T: The Indy Star | Image: Charles Topher

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  • GoodEssence

    “Pence is under the impression that the passage of a couple of weeks of time has healed the wounds he created when he signed the bigoted law last month.”

    The article is based upon this lie. The Indiana law, as originally written, is virtually identical to the Illinois law for which then-Senator Barak Obama voted. They are short. You can read them in their entirety quite quickly.

    Here is the wonderful, forward-looking, loving Illinois law: ilga(dot)gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=2272&ChapterID=64

    Here is the original Indiana law in all its, horrible, bigoted glory. Notice that there is no significant difference between the two laws: www(dot)indystar(dot)com/story/news/politics/2015/03/27/text-indianas-religious-freedom-law/70539772/

    In other words. “We did it. That’s good. You copied us, but it means something else when you say it.” Hogwash.

    • Rayne Williams

      That this law is ‘virtually identical’ is a lie. The Indiana law in Section 7 defines Person to include companies and organizations rather than the actual individual people as in the Illinois law. The Indiana law in Section 9 also states the government doesn’t have to be a party to the lawsuit or proceeding where this statue is brought to bear, where the Illinois law does. Section 9 also allows for this to be used as a defense if the ‘person’ even might believe they are burdened, not actually are. I guess you didn’t read the articles you linked.

      • GoodEssence

        Those distinctions are without difference. The Indiana law just acknowledges the current state of the law regarding companies and organizations as persons. Hobby Lobby may not be popular, but it is the law. Federal courts have likewise held that, at least with the federal RFRA, the government need not be a party to the case. That may not be the case in Illinois, but I’d guess that it is the case in at least several of the states that passed RFRA’s before Indiana.

        Regarding section 9 allowing this to be used as a defense “if the ‘person’ even might believe they are burdened, not actually are,” big deal. If a person believes his/her/its rights are substantially burdened, then the defense will be asserted, whether it is actually true or not. Asserted is not proven, and the burden of proof falls on the person asserting this defense. Once the substantial burden on religious practice is proven, assuming that it is, then the government can show its case that there is a compelling state interest justifying that burden. The state will generally have a compelling state interest.

        I guess I did read what I linked.