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…
Barely a week ago, a group of local community activists, elected officials, and LGBT allies were celebrating the third year anniversary of the passage of South Bend’s Human Rights Ordinance. The Human Rights Ordinance bans discrimination in education, employment, and access to public accommodations based on race, color, sex, disability, national origin and ancestry. An…
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,…
2014 will go down in history as the year of marriage equality. Same-sex marriage bans have fallen like dominoes across the United States since the Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional. Lower courts have used the rationale in the Windsor v. United States ruling to throw out marriage…
Fort Wayne-South Bend Bishop Kevin Rhoades writes in an online Catholic publication that Notre Dame was hasty in its decision to extend employee benefits to same-sex spouses. Two federal courts ruled Indiana’s gay marriage ban earlier this year. The Supreme Court effectively legalized marriage equality in Indiana last week. “Notre Dame believes that the law…
President Obama signed an executive order on Monday that bans workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity among federal contractors. The executive order gives the Secretary of Labor 90 days to come up with regulations implementing the requirement. “America’s federal contracts should not subsidize discrimination against the American people,” Obama said at the…
