So, Gov. Pence, How's That Religious "Freedom" Thing Working Out for You?

Last Thursday, Indiana Governor Mike Pence (R) signed his state's  Freedom to Discriminate Protection Act , oops, sorry; I meant (ahem) the Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law--a law that awards rights to conservative Christians that are allowed to no other ethnic or religious group.  

The bill was signed into law in a private ceremony.  

what eye thynk:  The ceremony may have been private, but the reaction has been public, swift, and negative.

1. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) sent a letter to the governor letting him know they were reconsidering holding their 2017 general assembly in Indianapolis.  The church estimates 6,000 people will attend.
2. Gen Con, the largest gaming convention in the U.S. is threatening to move its next convention out of Indiana.  Adrian Swartout, owner and CEO said 56,000 people attended last year, pumping $50 million into Indianapolis' economy.
3. exit6 Gift Emporium announced "we are pulling out of our expansion efforts into the Indiana retail market due to its controversial law passed on Thursday by Governor Pence.  We are immediately canceling all business contracts and lease negotiations."
4. The NCAA national office is located in Indianapolis.  President Mark Emmert issued this statement: "Moving forward, we intend to closely examine the implications of this bill and how it might affect future events as well as our workforce...The NCAA national office and our members are deeply committed to providing an inclusive environment for all our events.  We are especially concerned about how this legislation could affect our student athletes and employees."
5. Charles Barkley, NBA analyist, called for the Final Four tournament to be moved out of Indiana. He told USA Today, "Discrimination in any form is unacceptable to me. As long as anti-gay legislation exists in any state, I strongly believe big events such as the Final Four and Super Bowl should not be held in those states' cities." It should be noted that the NFL told then-Arizona Governor Jan Brewer that Super Bowl XLIX, which was scheduled to be held in Glendale this past February, would immediately be moved to another location if she signed a similar bill.  Ms. Brewer vetoed the legislation.
6. Marc Benioff, CEO of the tech company Salesforce, announced, "Today we are canceling all programs that require our customers/employees to travel to Indiana to face discrimination....Technology professionals are by their nature very progressive, and backward-looking legislation such as the RFRA will make the state of Indiana a less appealing place to live and work."
7. Angie's List said it was canceling a $40 million, 1000 job expansion in Indiana.   They said they would "begin reviewing alternatives for the expansion of (our) headquarters immediately."  CEO Bill Oesterle hinted that moving some parts out of the state completely is "on the table."
8. Yelp, a crowd-sourcing review site, released a statement saying, "It is unconscionable to imagine that Yelp would create, maintain, or expand a significant business presence in any state that encouraged discrimination by businesses against our employees or consumers at large."
9. San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee said, "San Francisco taxpayers will not subsidize legally-sanctioned discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people by the state of Indiana."  Mr. Lee immediately barred any city employee from traveling to Indiana on official business.
10. Eli Lilly employs more than 11,000 workers in Indiana.  The company called the law "bad for business" and urged the Governor not to sign the law.  It is unlikely they will make any fast moves, but they did issue a statement that would seem to leave the option open. "We certainly understand the implications this legislation has on our ability to attract and retain employees.  As we recruit, we are searching for top talent all over the world.  We need people who will help find cures for such devastating diseases as cancer and Alzheimer's.  Many of those individuals won't want to come to a state with laws that discriminate."
11. Ezkenazi Health, a leading health care provider with a 316 bed hospital and ten community health centers in central Indiana, worked to stop the bill from becoming law.  They explained that "if we have an employee who refuses to provide care based on that person's personal characteristics, we have policies that prohibit that, and we would discipline that employee."  Jessica Barth, Ezkanazi's Vice President of Legal Affairs, said the law's official passage "calls into question our ability to discipline an employee (and) undermines our patient's trust in every member of Eskenazi Health's staff."
12. Gogobot, a travel planning site, has updated their Indiana travel information with this warning: "If you are traveling to Indiana or intend to travel to Indiana you should know that on March 26, 2015, the Governor of Indiana signed  the religious objections bill into law...It may legalize discrimination against travelers due to their sexual orientation." CEO Travis Katz told Bloomberg TV that his company wanted to make people "aware of what they are getting into."

I harbor this personal fantasy that some city in Indiana recruits a force of garbage collectors made up entirely of gay pagans who refuse to pick up trash at any home that displays a cross or a statue of the Virgin Mary on their front lawn.  I think the reaction to that would be fun to watch.  Or maybe the cleaning person in charge of Governor Pence's office could refuse to empty his wastebasket because his/her religion believes bigotry in any form is wrong. A smaller rebellion, but I like that one too.

On Saturday, Governor Pence expressed to the Indianapolis Star that he was surprised by the reaction to the law.  He said he didn't anticipate "the hostility that's been directed at our state."  In yesterday's post, I called Mr. Pence an idiot for saying "This bill is not about discrimination."  The fact that he is surprised by the backlash proves me correct.

Mr. Pence said that he and legislative leaders will introduce a new bill this coming week designed to "clarify the intent" of the law.  He had no details, but re-iterated that giving gay and lesbian residents protected legal status under Indiana's civil rights law is "not on my agenda."  

No matter what comes next week, Governor Pence's agenda for Indiana already seems pretty clear to me.