The state of Indiana had a particularly crazy week in lawmaking
While we were all tallying up all the bonkers things happening in Florida, Indiana had a pretty crazy week of lawmaking. Look at what’s happening in the Hoosier state:
“Religious Freedom” law would basically allow anti-gay discrimination
Governor Pence signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act law on on Thursday, shrugging off concerns that the legislation — which could allow business owners not to serve customers with whom they have a beef over religion — is discriminating. He called that interpretation a “misunderstanding.” The Indianapolis Star reports the governor said “this bill is not about discrimination… and if I thought it legalized discrimination I would have vetoed it.” Critics see the law as another attempt to strip LGBT residents of their rights, following a legal tussle over gay marriage in the state last year.
Freedom Indiana, a group which fought vehemently against the legislation, said in reaction to the law’s passing that “this is a sad day for Indiana,” and referred to the bill as “a license to discriminate.” The new law, which seems pretty anti-capitalist in nature, has succeeded in robbing Indiana of in- and out-of-state dollars. Salesforce.com, a San Francisco-based tech company, has cancelled all of its events in Indiana in protest of the law. The city’s public sector took a similar stance — Politico reports that Mayor Mayor Edwin Lee barred all publicly-funded travel from San Francisco to the state. And before Pence passed the bill, gaming convention Gen Con said it would relocate out of Indiana if he moved forward with the law. Now, it seems, the organization is sticking to its word. The list goes on.