opinion

Our view: Bill sends wrong message about Indiana

For a state that likes to fight over how to set its clocks, Thursday marked the day Indiana turned the clock back decades by enshrining discrimination with the passage of the so-called Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

It was a shameful day for Indiana when Gov. Mike Pence signed the bill in a private ceremony, then issued a press release stating in part, "This bill is not about discrimination, and if I thought it legalized discrimination in any way in Indiana, I would have vetoed it." Hmm. This is the same governor who supported a constitutional ban against same-sex marriage.

You have it wrong, Gov. Pence. This bill is about discrimination. It's about using religion as an excuse to foster hate upon gays, lesbians and transgender people. Our lawmakers have turned religion on its ear. How sad.

We agree this legislation will affect few people, and to be clear, by people we include businesses and organizations, too. Yes, the bill Pence signed made sure that businesses are treated as "people." What is puzzling though, is why this law is necessary. Religious freedom is spelled out specifically in the First Amendment. A federal "Religious Freedom Restoration Act" was signed by President Clinton in 1993. Religious freedom is explicitly spelled out in the Indiana Constitution. How many amendments and acts do we need to codify "religious freedom"?

Nineteen states have passed similar laws, and about a dozen more are considering them, but that's no excuse to perpetuate backward thinking. It's no excuse to sanctify the right to discriminate against anybody.

What this law does, however, is perpetuate Indiana's image as a backwater, backward-looking state to the rest of the nation. It paints Hoosiers as racists and hateful. Obviously, that's not who we are, but the RFRA naintains this stereotype by hanging out a new-think version of an ugly "Whites Only" sign at the state's borders. And it's costing us dollars.

Hours after Pence signed the bill, Salesforce.com founder and CEO Marc Benioff announced on Twitter that he would no longer send employees or customers to Indiana. Salesforce is a cloud computing company in San Francisco that acquired Indianapolis-based marketing software company ExactTarget last year for $2.5 billion.

This is a high-tech firm that Indiana officials ought to desire.

The CEO Gen Con gamers' convention, the largest in Indianapolis with 50,000 attending, said the group might rethink plans to hold the convention past 2020 when the current contract runs out. That's a $50 million annual impact that could be gone.

Leaders of the 400,000 strong Disciples of Christ said the bill might affect its future commitments.

Even the coveted Indianapolis-based NCAA said the bill is giving the organization reason to examine "how it might affect future events as well as our workforce."

Here's another thing this act does: It gives Pence, should he pursue a presidential bid, a trophy he can proudly point out to woo Tea Party activists. "Hey, we couldn't get a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, but we showed 'em. No court decision will change our hearts and minds."

Based on the makeup of the GOP in the Indiana Legislature — mostly white and male — it's a safe bet that most of them have never experienced discrimination of any kind. They don't know what it feels like to be denied a basic service. It's so easy to pass legislation that will never affect you directly.

Finally, this act paints Indiana Republicans as a party hell-bent on pushing its version of an ideological agenda. Meanwhile, our schools struggle to find funds to educate students; our roads and bridges are crumbling; the middle class gets smaller, and the state's economy plods along offering little opportunity for college graduates and people facing perpetual underemployment.

Those are the real issues, the tough issues, the ones that demand action much more than passing a bill that affects few people but sends a big message about this state and its people. But hey, it's easy to pass a bill to target a group that's in the minority.

We believe most Hoosiers are tolerant and welcoming. The phrase "Hoosier hospitality" carries some weight, and rightfully so. Initial efforts are underway by many businesses to place signs announcing they welcome everybody. Good.

Yes, Thursday was a shameful day for Indiana, but more so for Gov. Pence and the lawmakers who voted for this bill.