By the time Indiana again has a chance to pass a law to protect some of its vulnerable citizens, the country will have a new president and the state could have a new governor.
The Indiana General Assembly could have done something to assure that it was prohibiting discrimination throughout the state based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It could have done something to force Gov. Mike Pence to stand behind his word that he abhors discrimination.
Indiana is one of eight states this year to consider extending civil rights protections, but couldn’t get a bill to a vote. Not only did Pence duck the issue in any meaningful way in his State of the State address, but he’s shown little leadership on the key issue in a short session of the Legislature. The promises by those in Indianapolis to address the issue in the current legislature were empty, and designed to avoid the issue with hopes that the public would simply forget.
Wednesday was the deadline for bills to move forward, but Senate Bill 344, which would have afforded protections on sexual orientation but not gender identity, didn’t have enough support to come to a vote.
The issue has been contentious in the state for the last year. The Religious Freedom Restoration Act in 2015 became national news when it appeared to sanction discrimination if you had religious objections to orientation or identity.
Social conservatives and some people of faith have lauded the Republicans, including Pence, for standing firm. As we’ve said before, this shouldn’t be a religious issue. This is an issue in which there’s doubt about whether the state will protect someone based on sexuality, someone who could be a target of discrimination. This is an issue where it’s not clear whether Indiana would not only welcome, but protect, someone who could be targeted.
The controversy hurt the state’s image.
It may have cost Pence a shot at running for the White House in 2016, but more importantly, it cost the state an estimated $60 million in lost business. That’s just the measurable amount so far.
An executive order in Indiana prohibits state agencies from discriminating, but its leaders wouldn’t pass a law extending that to the private sector despite the calls of a number of business leaders.
The Indiana Chamber of Commerce has called for changing state law. So have a number of companies. Cummins Inc., which has more than 50,000 employees worldwide and about 8,000 in Indiana, called for the change to the state law. It was influential in getting it passed in Pence’s hometown of Columbus, where the City Council approved changing the city’s civil rights code to assure civil rights protections. That’s right. In September, an all-Republican City Council stood up to Eric Miller of Advance America and unanimously approved adding civil rights protections to the city code.
Columbus joined other cities in Indiana who have done so. About 15 so far, as well as at least two counties and several towns. An IndyStar and Ball State University poll showed 70 percent of Hoosiers favor extending civil rights protection.
Former Goshen Mayor Allan Kauffman issued an executive order on city hiring policies, assuring that discrimination wasn’t at play. New mayor Jeremy Stutsman faces a Republican council where some members have indicated unease at moving ahead with anti-discrimination language.
In Elkhart, former State Representative and current Mayor Tim Neese expressed hope that the General Assembly would act.
It didn’t.
So now it’s time for Goshen and Elkhart councils, who have considered changing civil rights laws, to follow through and do so. It’s time.
Nappanee and Elkhart County officials should do the same thing. This isn’t about faith. This is about assuring that discrimination doesn’t have a place in our community. This is about acting in good faith to assure someone’s civil rights are protected.
It’s the right thing to do. It’s disappointing the General Assembly didn’t act. That means that it’s time for our cities to do so and hope that down the road, our state leaders will assure that all Hoosiers are safe from discrimination.