Gov. Mike Pence was interviewed by George Stephanopoulos on the ABC program "This Week." Pence was asked would an Indiana florist be allowed to discriminate under this new law. He refused to answer six times.
Later Pence claimed the issue was perception of the law, not the law itself. He scolded those who "mischaracterized" the law, though Pence was doing a fine job of that himself. Part of what Pence is saying, why the uproar? Our new law is just like the federal RFRA law that President Clinton signed in 1993.
That prompted Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, who wrote the federal RFRA with Ted Kennedy, to blast Pence. There are two important differences between the federal law and the Indiana law. Rob Tisinai of Box Turtle Bulletin explains it well.
* The federal was enacted so that a Jewish prisoner can get Kosher meals or a Native American prisoner can keep his long hair. These are cases between a citizen and the government. The Indiana law allows for cases between two citizens. That means if I'm refused service because I'm gay and sue, the other person can claim protection through the RFRA.
* The Indiana law expands the definition of "person" to include an organization, a non-profit charity, and a corporation.
The federal law protects the individual from onerous impositions of the government. The Indiana law is a shield for corporations to do harm.
Still think this bill is harmless? Take a look at who was at the signing ceremony. That was conducted behind closed doors. When a photo was released, Pence refused to identify those who witnessed his signature. So GLAAD did a bit of digging. Pence was surrounded by: Micah Clark, who believes homosexuality is treatable and raged when a lesbian wanted to attend a prom in a tuxedo. Eric Miller, who falsely claimed pastors could be jailed for preaching against homosexuality. Curt Smith, who equates homosexuality with bestiality and helped write the bill.
Melissa McEwan of Shakesville, who lives in Indiana, tells us what kind of legislature the state has. In 2012 Glenda Ritz was the first Democrat to be elected to Superintendent of Public Instruction in 40 years. Pence was elected that same year. Immediately after taking office he and the GOP dominated legislature stripped that job of all power.
McEwen also responds to the idea that we should all give up on Indiana because it is a "lost cause." She reminds us that in 2008 both Hillary and Obama paid attention to the state and for the second time in 70 years Indiana voted for a Democrat for president. Commenter Aeryl notes that declaring Indiana to be a lost cause means the belief that there won't be any change. So a call to boycott that is supposed to be about forcing a change is really about punishment.
Not that we need any more proof... We know exactly what kind of person Jeb Bush is. He thinks the Indiana law is just dandy.
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