I'm a proud Hoosier.

[Ultranator BAR]

I don't like to discuss politics here. In fact I rarely will ever respond to political threads on the forums, but I've had my fill today, so here's my rant...

So, if you've been watching the news lately, or Facebook lately, you might notice that Indiana Governor Mike Pence just signed into law Senate Bill 101, also known as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. And if you listen to media, and celebrities you'll hear how this bill has made discrimination legal in Indiana. Here's what George Takei has said:

He's saying that he's apparently unwelcome in our state, so he's called for everyone to Boycott the whole state.

Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce, a company I've never heard of before has announced that they are going to be "[C]anceling all programs that require our customers/employees to travel to Indiana to face discrimination.

Also, here's an article from CNN saying how this bill will allow Indiana businesses to reject gay customers.

And finally, here's an article stating that a Ball State professor says that this bill goes against every religion apparently.

So if you've read all of those, you'll probably come to the same conclusion that a lot of my Facebook friends have, that Indiana is now full of bigots who will be refusing to serve gay people left and right. And if that was true you'd be completely right to be outraged. I'd be outraged too by the way, if I thought any of this would happen. Instead I've become outraged all day today with everywhere I look online people bashing Indiana left and right.

First, I want to point out that I don't have any intentions to discriminate anyone. I will be real sad if people are allowed to use this law to refuse service to anyone based on discrimination. This bill isn't about that though. You still can't say, "I'm not going to serve you because you're gay." That would be so closed minded, and I really hope that if anyone does think that's acceptable that they'd be sued, and taught that it's wrong. No one will though, or at least not under any special "Legal Umbrella." Why? because 31 States already have hightened religious protection in place.

18 other states already have this law on their books, or something very similar, and 13 other states (including Indiana)have precedent through court cases that have been decided. This bill is also almost a carbon copy of a federal law that was signed by Bill Clinton back in 1993. Which Hillary Clinton should've probably thought about before she decided to speak up about it today.

So, if this state law will now make it legal to discriminate, then surely there would be countless reports of bigotry running rampant all throughout the country. There isn't of course because this law, much like the many other state laws like it, and the federal law does not make discrimination legal. It does not mean that you can kick people out of your store for being gay. It does as a business owner, you can not be forced to participate in any event that would go against your religion.

Here's a law professer's take on this bill, and why it's necessary.

So, say you're a doctor, and you're pro life. A patient walks into your private practice and says, "Give me an abortion." You say, "No, ma'am I'm sorry, but I can't of good conscience do that." No harm, the patient can go find another doctor. Say you run a drug store, but don't want to sell contraceptives because it's against your religion. Should you be forced to carry them on the shelves? Or should you have the right to control what's being sold at your business? Say you're a Muslim butcher and someone demands you sell them pork.

Should a photographer be forced to attend a gay marriage if a couple wants to hire them? Should a pastor of a church be forced to perform gay wedding ceremonies? I don't think people should be banned from churches for being gay by the way. I am Catholic, one of the most criticized religions by the LGBT community, and I know of a few gay Catholics who are welcome in my parish. I don't see any of these hypothetical situations as discrimination. Discrimination would be refusing to do any business with people for being gay. Discrimination is saying that you have to chose between following your religious convictions and being sued and losing your business.

Now, to everyone jumping up and down saying F U to my home state, including the Mayor of San Francisco, who has banned all public travel to Indiana, take a moment and think. If you live in one of the states listed on that map above, maybe you should find shelter elsewhere too, or perhaps move out of the country all together, since all this legalized discrimination has been around the country wide for 20 years.

[Melnyk 1st MRB]

Ultra, such a well crafted argument and response you have created here. I thank you for your time to thoroughly provide evidence and explain the situation. I have not heard of this event happening yet, but as I continue to browse the Internet and something like this comes up, thanks to you I will understand it correctly. Overall I support your point that this is no biggy and is again one sided politics bashing certain politicians just to bash without knowing what is actually happening. Thanks for your time.

[J. Hill]

well said. It is not about taking the rights away from the LGBT community, its about protecting the rights of those that do not want to violate their religious beliefs to kowtow to others beliefs. No customer should be denied service because of their beliefs, and no business should be persecuted for theirs. No restaurant should be forced to stop serving pork because it offends the religious beliefs of Muslims. No customer should be refused service because they are gay. If a business started to refuse service to a customer because they were LGBT, or some other religious reason, they would end up losing a lot of their customer base. They will not last long. On the other hand, to try and run a company out of business because of their religious beliefs is wrong too. It goes both ways people.

[Cozad]

Ultra, a well thought out post for sure. With all the links you provided, I didn't have time to check them all out, but as you noted, there is so much media attention I am assuming most of it has been circulated elsewhere.

I did want to touch on something though. From what I have seen, I have not noticed people making the assumption that everyone in Indiana is a bigot. I think most that are savvy enough to follow the issue realize that it is often the conservative portion of the Republican party that pushes these laws. They often do so to pander to their base and look good when the next election comes around. I truly do think people know the difference.

As someone that grew up socially liberal in Illinois, I have spent the last 6 years living in 2 VERY conservative states: South Carolina and Oklahoma. And recently in Oklahoma, there have been a lot of political stories that have been embarrassing for the state similar to what Indiana has been facing. But even here, these lawmakers are getting ostracized by many conservatives for going too far. Most everyone can realize that these folks often go too far.

Unfortunately, in our headline driven cesspool of media, such nuanced arguments are never made.

[Cozad]

Ultra, a well thought out post for sure. With all the links you provided, I didn't have time to check them all out, but as you noted, there is so much media attention I am assuming most of it has been circulated elsewhere.

I did want to touch on something though. From what I have seen, I have not noticed people making the assumption that everyone in Indiana is a bigot. I think most that are savvy enough to follow the issue realize that it is often the conservative portion of the Republican party that pushes these laws. They often do so to pander to their base and look good when the next election comes around. I truly do think people know the difference.

As someone that grew up socially liberal in Illinois, I have spent the last 6 years living in 2 VERY conservative states: South Carolina and Oklahoma. And recently in Oklahoma, there have been a lot of political stories that have been embarrassing for the state similar to what Indiana has been facing. But even here, these lawmakers are getting ostracized by many conservatives for going too far. Most everyone can realize that these folks often go too far.

Unfortunately, in our headline driven cesspool of media, such nuanced arguments are never made.