Leave it to our state’s lawmakers to make a compelling issue far more complicated than it needs to be.
In the wake of the damaging fallout for Indiana from the Religious Freedom Restoration Act debacle last year, a simple, straightforward step was all that was needed for the Legislature to really fix a self-inflicted wound. Because the initial RFRA created the impression that Indiana was placing in state law the ability to discriminate against people based on sexual orientation or gender identity, the right thing to do was to quickly extend civil rights protections to that segment of the population. That’s what Hoosiers wanted done. The matter would have been settled.
But today’s state government structure, because its political balance is so out of whack with one party so dominant, keeps finding ways to make things worse instead of better.
First, Gov. Mike Pence, as the state’s public policy leader, has been absent from the discussion. He’s offered no guidance or direction on the issue other than to say he’s listening to all sides. Given his declared opposition in the past to extending those rights, perhaps that’s a good thing.
But Republican legislators trying to fill the leadership void are tap-dancing around the issue. First, a GOP senator proposed granting Indiana civil rights protections to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, but layered his proposal with puzzling exceptions based on religious beliefs. He also designed the bill to override more aggressive and inclusive LGBT rights ordinances in cities such as Terre Haute.
On Wednesday, however, the senator changed his bill to delete transgender rights, instead stipulating that lawmakers would study the transgender issue after this year’s session. It also adds more robust protections for those with “sincerely held” religious opposition to gay people. Unlike his prior proposal, the new bill would allow cities that previously passed LGBT rights protections to keep those ordinances on the books.
Indiana needs to clearly be recognized as an inclusive place to live and work, and nothing short of full extension of civil rights on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity will do that. The fussing and fudging in order to assuage religious conservatives’ anti-gay ideologies is counterproductive.
Freedom Indiana, a statewide organization fighting to extend laws to include LGBT rights, was blunt and on target in its reaction to the latest bill.
“This bill is a non-starter that offers zero protections for transgender people in Indiana,” according to a prepared statement. “Both [bills] represent complicated attempts to cure a problem that requires a very simple solution. Gay and transgender people should not be subjected to legal discrimination in our state. ... The more lawmakers try to dance around the need for real, clear LGBT protections, the more it looks like they want a way to maintain the status quo: a state where you can be fired, denied housing or turned away from public places because of who you are or whom you love.”
That view was echoed in a statement from Peter Hanscom, initiative manager for Indiana Competes, a coalition of Indiana business leaders trying to boost the state’s economic future by ensuring that civil rights are extended to LGBT individuals.
“Indiana businesses are sending an overwhelming message that explicit protections from discrimination for all Hoosiers are essential to growing our state’s economy and keeping us competitive on a global scale. We have, and will continue to engage in productive conversations with lawmakers about the importance of these non-discrimination policies. Removing protections for any class of people in the effort to update our state’s non-discrimination law undercuts our work to keep Indiana an attractive place to do business. We will continue to work with our partners in the Senate to achieve a bill that fully protects all Hoosiers.”
GOP leaders may be convoluting the issue in hopes of guaranteeing that no action is taken this year on the issue of LGBT rights. Hoosiers who value human rights and oppose all forms of discrimination need to stand strong and not allow that to happen.