EVANSVILLE — Indiana is making considerable strides in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer community but still lags behind other states in equality laws and policies, according to a 2018 report released by an advocacy group for LGBTQ civil rights.
The Human Rights Campaign's scorecard placed Indiana in the lowest category — "High Priority to Achieve Basic Equality." This rating means advocates in the state are focusing on raising support for basic LGBTQ equality measures, such as non-discrimination laws.
"These states are most likely to have religious refusal or other anti-LGBTQ laws," the report stated. "Advocates might further LGBTQ equality by focusing on municipal protections for LGBTQ people or opposing negative legislation."
The U.S House of Representatives will soon consider the Equality Act, a "historic bill" aiming to provide explicit non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ individuals and families in areas of housing, credit, employment, education, public spaces, jury service and federally funded programs.
There are currently no comprehensive civil rights protections in place for LGBTQ individuals at the federal level.
"The rights of millions of LGBTQ people and their families depend on which state they live in," HRC said. "In 30 states, LGBTQ people remain at risk of being fired, evicted or denied services because of who they are."
Indiana is one of those states because it doesn't offer statewide non-discrimination protections in employment, housing or places of public accommodation, jury selection, education, credit and insurance on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation, said Cathryn Oakley, HRC state legislative director and author of the SEI report.
"That is a huge problem, as it leaves LGBTQ people vulnerable to discrimination at work, in renting or buying a place to live, and in public places or spaces," Oakley said in an email. "That's why it is so important that cities including Indianapolis, Bloomington, Evansville, Hammond, Muncie and Terre Haute have passed non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people at the local level. It is critical, though, that the state's existing non-discrimination laws be extended to include LGBTQ people."
Robert Dion, chair of the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Human Relations Commission, said public opinion has shifted in a more progressive direction. Dion also chairs the Department of Law, Politics, and Society at the University of Evansville.
"Indiana is not likely anytime soon to pass a statewide civil rights law that includes LGBTQ people," he said. "It’s not within the realm of a realistic possibility. It’s just not. To be blunt about it, we don’t have a hate crime law because the state legislature doesn’t want to include LGBT people (sexual orientation and gender identity) in the bill."
Indiana doesn't have many policies or services in place for LGBTQ individuals and non-traditional families, according to the report.
Dion said Indiana is never going to lead the way in implementing progressive LGBTQ measures, saying, "Our goal is to just not be last. We’re not going to be first though."
"As Gov. Holcomb said last month ‘I don’t want Indiana to be one of the five states left that refuses to pass a hate crime law," he said.
But there is some good news.
Indiana has introduced 50 "good bills" aimed at closing LGBTQ gaps since 2004, compared to 25 "bad bills." Only a few have passed legislatures.
Indiana currently has a few laws or policies that deal with LGBTQ youth (cyberbullying), health and safety, hate crimes and criminal justice laws, non-discrimination laws and parenting laws, including but no limited to:
- HIV/AIDS Criminalization laws
- Prohibition of Surrogacy
- De Facto Parent Recognition
- Parental Presumption for same-sex couples
- Name and Gender updates on Drivers Licenses
- Non-discrimination laws in colleges and universities for both sexual orientation and gender identity
- Non-discrimination Policy for State Employees
- Non-discrimination laws for foster care
Oakley said Indiana has to continue forward thinking to make progress.
"It (Indiana) can improve its laws around parenting, health and safety — including ensuring that transgender people have access to the vital, medically-necessary care that they need, protections for youth from the dangerous and discredited practice of 'conversion therapy,' and finally in updating its hate crimes laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity," she emphasized.
Where Evansville stands
In October, the Human Rights Campaign gave Evansville a score of 82 out of 100 on its 2018 Municipal Equality Index scorecard.
Evansville ranked high in non-discrimination laws, municipal services and the city leadership's commitment to be inclusive of the LGBTQ community and to advocate for full equality.
How did Indiana cities do?
- Bloomington - 104
- Fort Wayne - 40
- Hammond - 59
- Indianapolis - 89
- Muncie - 69
- South Bend -70
- Terre Haute - 52
- West Lafayette -45
In 2016, City Council approved amending a local human rights ordinance that would allow the City's Human Rights Commission to investigate claims of discrimination against members of the LGBTQ community.
Under the previous city Human Relations ordinance — which was passed in 2011 — LGBTQ individuals could be fired from a private business, denied housing, refused service or kicked out of school. Current ordinance helps to protect against that and adds greater enforcement.
Dion said Evansville was "ahead of the curve in passing an ordinance that was inclusive and expansive." He said Evansville passed its ordinance before South Bend and is far more inclusive than Fort Wayne.
"Because there has been a stalemate at the statewide level (passing a statewide civil rights law), there has been movement at the local level," he emphasized. "Various cities and counties across Indiana have passed inclusive non-discrimination ordinances. Evansville was not the first, but we are also not Johnny come lately either."
Later, Vanderburgh added the same language so that the City and County had the same inclusive language, Dion said.
However, there is still work to do and controversy surrounding LGBTQ individuals in Vanderburgh County.
The scorecard gave Evansville zero points in key areas: inclusive workplace environments; transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits; LGBTQ youth, homeless and elder services and services for transgender individuals.
"I think the areas we (the community) are trying to improve in is the reporting of hate crime statistics," said Diane Clements-Boyd, executive director of the Evansville-Vanderburgh Human Relations Commission. "We've not garnered any points in that area just yet."
The recent Drag Queen Story Hour program controversy has enticed various individuals, politicians and organizations to speak out for and against the program.
The Drag Queen Story Hour program will be held at EVPL-North Park on Feb. 23. During the event, drag queens and (kings) will read pre-selected books to children under the age of 11, facilitate singalongs and assist in craft projects.
Those against the program have cited religious beliefs, morality issues, taxpayer dollars being used for "divisive" programming and drag queens trying to influence their children's sexuality.
Some public speakers have called for County Council, EVSC School Board and Commissioners to replace or remove their appointed library Trustees, who never voted on having the program.
EVPL officials say all drag queens and (kings) will be dressed in professional attire and reading materials, and songs will be chosen by a librarian. According to EVPL terms and conditions, children under the age of 11 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Dion said those against the event are part of the minority in the region and statewide.
"There's a lot of sound and fury," he said. "But it is a noisy minority. As far as I know, most of the communication that has been directed towards the City and County, and the library has been in favor of doing the story hour. The silent majority is out there, and the noisy minority is kicking up a fuss."
Prior to the Drag Queen Story Hour issue, a transgender student initiated a lawsuit against the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. over student bathroom availability. The student wanted to use the male restroom when school started Aug. 8, 2018.
The teen said he had sent multiple requests to EVSC and felt “ostracized” by peers because he must use either the female restroom or small unisex bathrooms in the school nurse’s office that aren't always available.