Last year, Gov. Mike Pence and the members of the Indiana General Assembly should have learned a hard lesson.
Legislators passed a Religious Freedom Restoration Act law many people believed would allow for discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Pence signed it in a private ceremony with leaders of many of the state’s most conservative groups, at least one of whom had publicly cheered that view: that the law would mean people did not have to do business with gays and lesbians if they didn’t want to, based on religious grounds.
The law, called RFRA for short, stuck a lot of labels on Indiana, none of them good. Across the nation, people wondered what was up with Hoosiers — why did the people of this state believe it was all right to discriminate against gays and lesbians?
A lot of regular Hoosiers knew this perception, born out of actions by the governor and Legislature, did not describe them. A lot of regular Hoosiers had opposed RFRA from the start, as did many of the state’s leading business organizations and universities, including Indiana University.
The state’s image suffered badly with those for whom RFRA represented exclusion, not religious freedom. Conventions said they wouldn’t come here. Businesses said they wouldn’t expand or would consider flat-out leaving. Talk show hosts and celebrities mocked and bad-mouthed Indiana. It was clear that creative and talented young people would mark Indiana off their list of potential places to work and live.
It took a few days, but Pence and top legislators understood they had to stop the bleeding. They added language, as a bandage, that said RFRA did not allow discrimination.
They also promised to consider in the 2016 legislative session expanding the state’s civil rights law to protect more citizens.
That’s a promise they most now keep. They must expand the state civil rights law to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected legal classes. They must ensure rights for all in employment, housing and public accommodation.
Otherwise, they didn’t learn anything from last year’s mess.
The Herald-Times is one of eight newspaper opinion pages joining the Indianapolis Star today in a #RightsForAll campaign to encourage expansion of this law. Newspapers still have a bully pulpit from which to encourage action from our lawmakers, but are far from alone.
Last week, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce announced its more than 100-member board of directors “overwhelmingly” voted to support adding these protections. Expect many more powerful organizations to add their voices to this effort. The annual Hoosier Poll conducted by Ball State University and WISH-TV showed 56 percent of Hoosiers support LGBT rights protections vs. 36 percent who oppose.
Our lawmakers must grab this opportunity to show the nation Indiana is a welcoming state that believes in equal rights for all.
They must pass swiftly and without rancor a civil rights expansion that makes that clear.