Not this again.
This Wednesday morning, the Indiana legislature will debate whether it should pass , a new and expanded Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Sound familiar? It should because right around this time last year, the Indiana legislature did the Exact. Same. Thing. A few weeks later, in a private ceremony where he was , Gov. Mike Pence signed the Indiana RFRA into law.
And how did that turn out? as a law to allow religion to be used to discriminate and inflict harm. As a result, multi-million dollar conventions and even the NCAA threatened to cancel future events; powerful businesses like Salesforce stopped investment in the state; thousands of Hoosiers voiced their opposition; and #boycottIndiana trended on Twitter across the country.
In fact, the entire country watched the story play out and raised its collective voice to say that a bill that allowed religion to be used to discriminate and inflict harm in Indiana .
To stem this avalanche of criticism, the legislature passed a limited 鈥渇ix鈥 to ensure that the RFRA could not be used to undermine certain laws protecting against discrimination in housing, public accommodations, and employment, whether those protections already exist in localities like Indianapolis or will be enacted in the future in Indiana.
To further repair the state鈥檚 tarnished reputation, organizations like , the , and throughout the state urged the legislature to enact a statewide nondiscrimination law that protects LGBT Hoosiers.
Instead of being chastened by all of this, Indiana鈥檚 legislators are apparently suffering from amnesia. SB 66 would replace Indiana鈥檚 existing RFRA with a new RFRA that strips away that 鈥渇ix鈥 and undermines existing and future nondiscrimination protections. Nor does it propose safeguards to address other rights, including reproductive rights, the bill would put at risk. In fact, SB 66 is much broader in many ways. For instance, it isn鈥檛 limited to religion. It will upend Indiana courts鈥 careful consideration of the fundamental rights of speech, assembly, and to bear arms.
Not to mention, instead of advancing a bill that would actually protect LGBT Hoosiers from discrimination, the legislature will contemplate two seriously flawed 鈥渘ondiscrimination鈥 bills, , which are full of overbroad religious exemptions, include limited (or no) protections for transgender Hoosiers, and erode existing protections from discrimination for everyone in Indiana under state and local law.
These legislators have learned absolutely nothing. What is that old saw about 鈥渇ool me once鈥?
Tell Indiana鈥檚 legislators in no uncertain terms: Oppose SB 66.