On Tuesday, Gov. Pence called on the Indiana Legislature to “fix” the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which since its passage has brought intense ire upon the state.
His fix? Amending the law to clarify it “does not give anyone a license to discriminate;” to make clear the law is not a legal defense for denying services to anyone.
That is what this whole brouhaha is about, right? Pence said the overblown media interpretation that has “smeared” the state and painted Hoosiers as unwelcoming bigots can be fixed. Pence doesn’t want to fix it by giving the LBGT community protected status, but by ensuring business owners know they can’t tell people to their face, “I won’t do business with you because you’re in love with someone of the same gender.”
Pence’s address seemed disingenuous as he said in one breath he hates discrimination and in the next that pursuing protections for LGBT people is a separate issue that’s not on his agenda.
Pence is fond of citing Illinois’ RFRA, which then-state Sen. Obama voted for, as a model for our state’s legislation.
But there’s a major difference between Indiana’s law and the one in Illinois. In Illinois, sexual orientation is a protected class, right alongside race, religion and sex.
Pence doesn’t seem to grasp the gravity of what is happening right now. The country’s scrutiny isn’t going to be satiated by merely clarifying this law doesn’t allow business owners to deny goods and services to gays and lesbians. We don’t think it’s going to be enough.
As written, the RFRA undermines local laws like the one in Indianapolis that extends its human rights ordinance to include sexual orientation. That means Indy’s law and others like it will be usurped.
Even if lawmakers amended the RFRA to say it doesn’t supersede civil rights laws, someone living in Indianapolis would have greater protections than someone living in Kokomo.
The only solution is for our lawmakers to back Pence’s message of “Hoosier hospitality” with protections that make LGBT people willing to call Indiana their home. If we don’t, we’re going to continue to be painted as inhospitable, no matter what.