Equality Federation Concerned About Impact of Indiana 'Nondiscrimination' Bill

An Unacceptable Bill Full of Discriminatory Carve-Outs, Ripe for Abuse

November 18, 2015 - Equality Federation is concerned Indiana's Senate Bill 100, introduced by Senate Republicans, would not cover many Hoosiers from discrimination. While the authors are framing the bill as nondiscrimination legislation, it includes broad exemptions allowing discrimination by a host of organizations and businesses. The bill discourages people from filing discrimination complaints and would preempt many towns and counties from passing their own local nondiscrimination ordinances.

Rebecca Isaacs, Executive Director of Equality Federation said:

This bill is so full of exemptions and carve-outs that it could have the unintentional consequence of putting Hoosiers at greater risk of discrimination. The majority of Americans, including Hoosiers, agree that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people should be protected from discrimination and treated fairly under the law. Businesses that serve the public should serve all of the public. While most employers, landlords, and service providers want to do the right thing, we need protections for when there are a few bad apples who will discriminate.

Indiana should update the law so that it is complete, fair, and consistent to ensure everyone has the same opportunity to provide for themselves and their families. This is a cynical piece of legislation that would promote and codify discrimination, and Hoosiers deserve better.

Freedom Indiana is working to build support among legislators for nondiscrimination protections and on Tuesday delivered 5,000 letters to lawmakers supporting expanded protections. Thirteen cities and counties already have nondiscrimination protections in place, and 11 out of 12 Indiana Fortune 500 include sexual orientation and/or gender identity in their corporate nondiscrimination policies.