Governor Mike Pence must think us to be stupid. His comments that the just signed “Religious Freedom” act is “not about discrimination” do not hold water. There can be only one reason for this incredibly bad legislation and that is “discrimination”. The fundamental Christian folks have been at it again. They don’t like gays and lesbians and don’t like same-sex marriages. If you want a clue about who supports this discrimination, just take a look at the invited guests to the governor’s private signing ceremony for the bill.
State Representative Sheila Klinker had it right when she wrote to her constituents, “SB 101 is designed to allow private businesses to discriminate against people with whom they disagree based on religious beliefs. More specifically, they are supporting the bill so that private businesses can refuse service to members of the [gay and lesbian] community and people who have consummated same-sex marriages.”
Before this all gets sorted out and more-than-likely thrown out by the courts, Indiana is the loser. Already several conventions have suggested they will not now come to Indiana which will be the loss of millions in revenue to the state. Even the NCAA is thinking about the implications. Companies like Lilly & Company and Cummings Inc. are not happy either.
So, nice going Indiana General Assembly and Governor Pence. Indiana has too often been labeled in negative ways. We just added one more to the list.