A law born in original sin, clearly designed from the get-go to be anti-gay, should not stand.
Yet, Indiana seems set on reworking, rather than repealing, the religious-freedom bill signed by Gov. Mike Pence last week that, judging by its timing and legislative history, almost certainly was designed to be a legal defense for discrimination against gays and lesbians.
EDITORIAL
Will a reworked bill go far enough to sufficiently protect gays, lesbians and transgender men and women from discrimination? A proposed clarification, obtained by the Indianapolis Star, certainly would improve the bill. The new language would prohibit the law from being used as a legal defense in court if a person or corporation were sued for discriminating against gays.
Not exactly a ringing declaration of universal human rights, huh? But the clarification would disarm the bill as a weapon of discrimination.
All this talk about “clarification,” unfortunately, ultimately misses the larger point. What Indiana really needs is what Illinois has had on the books for decades — a definitive human rights law that affirmatively guarantees “all individuals” within the state “freedom from discrimination,” no matter their sexual orientation, gender, race or ethnicity.
In other words, discrimination is declared unlawful in all places open to the public, except those religious in nature, such as churches, synagogues and mosques. It is this separate human-rights law that takes any discriminatory reading out of Illinois’ own religious-freedom law.
Even a cursory look at how Indiana’s religious-freedom law came to be reveals that it was driven hard by anti-gay sentiments after a federal judge struck down Indiana’s ban on gay marriage last year. Many Democrats in the legislature want the law scrapped, but too many Republicans would rather pander to social conservatives living in the past.
Backlash from companies based in Indiana, such as Angie’s List and the National Collegiate Athletic Association, as well as corporate leaders from all over America, forced Gov. Pence to push for a fix. They also essentially sent a warning shot to lawmakers in Arkansas, North Carolina and Michigan, where religious-freedom laws on the table, to think through carefully whether they want their states stigmatized like Indiana.
Wednesday, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he wanted lawmakers in his state to make changes to a religious freedom bill that some fear will allow businesses to discriminate against gays and lesbians.
Clarification or none, Indiana will be living this one down for years. Dune climbers, businesses and conventioneers will have to weigh whether a state with laws open to intolerance and discrimination is deserving of their dollars.
Original sins are hard to wash away.