Echoing the incredulous police chief in the movie Casablanca, proponents of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act say they are shocked to discover that anyone objects to protecting religious believers from government oppression. As the nuclear reaction that has engulfed us for the past week continues to burn, one wonders how so many legislators got this…
A small-town pizzeria that came out as saying that they would deny service to same-sex weddings, citing Indiana’s new Religious Freedom Restoration Act, has been met with a ferocious response on Internet review websites. Memories Pizza of Walkerton told ABC 57 that they support the law signed by Governor Mike Pence last week and that…
The Indianapolis City Council adopted a resolution on Monday night in opposition to the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The bipartisan 24-4 vote is symbolic in nature. The Indianapolis City Council has a Republican majority and the city has a Republican mayor, whereas the RFRA was passed solely with Republican votes in the state legislature….
Freedom Indiana, the gay rights group that formed in 2013 to defeat an effort to enshrine a same-sex marriage ban into the state’s constitution, is pushing back against the state’s new “religious freedom” law, which is increasingly hurting the state’s economy and reputation. The organization has publicly suggested that state lawmakers adopt an amendment to…
Indiana lawmakers are scrambling to backpedal as a fierce backlash has taken hold against Republican Governor Mike Pence since he signed into law legislation that effectively permits discrimination against people thought to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer. Under the handle #BoycottIndiana, LGBTQ activists and supporters across the nation are vowing economic retribution against…
Area business leaders met with South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg on Friday afternoon to show their support for an inclusive community in the wake of Indiana’s passage of the divisive Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). The impromptu gathering was meant to show that South Bend businesses and its city government are committed to treating all…
The ink barely dried from Governor Mike Pence’s pen when word came that Indiana is already feeling negative economic impacts of a highly controversial bill that would legalize discrimination in the state. The bill — known as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act — was signed into law today by Governor Pence. It passed the Republican-dominated…
The Indiana House of Representatives passed a bill on Monday that would shield individuals, businesses and other organizations who object to a law based on their religion. The bill — which opponents call a “license to discriminate” and supporters call “religious freedom” — won the support of the Republican-controlled chamber. A Senate version of the…
Local leaders involved in the effort to pass South Bend’s Human Rights Ordinance will be honored this weekend at Guerrilla Gay Bar. “This is the first month of our new effort to leverage the power and size of our group for more community engagement,” says Willow Wetherall, one of the organizers of Guerrilla Gay Bar,…
Indiana’s legislature is currently considering a number of so-called “religious freedom” bills that have arose in the months since the state was forced to begin recognizing same-sex marriages. Senate Bill 568 prohibits the state or local governments from passing laws that “compel a person to take an action that is contrary to the person’s exercise…
