Indiana Religious Right Groups Look To Overturn Local Human Rights Laws

By: Andy Powell, Staff Writer

NOBLESVILLE, IND — After experiencing huge blow back from their anti-gay legislation earlier this year, the state of Indiana and its governor and republican vice-presidential candidate, Gov. Mike Pence, along with two faith-based groups that have huge clout in the state house, have gone to Hamilton County Superior Court to argue that anti-discrimination ordinances in four Indiana cities hurt their religious organizations.

However as we have seen many times, attorneys for the city of Indianapolis, Carmel, Bloomington and Columbus, argued before the court last Wednesday that the Indiana Family Institute and American Family Association of Indiana aren’t governed by the regulations which protect the rights of LGBTQ citizens.  In fact there is no evidence whatsoever that these two faith based groups have been restricted, harmed or affected by the city of Indianapolis’ “Human Rights Law”.

The faith based organizations filed their lawsuit last December, challenging a revision that state legislators passed in 2015.  That legislation Senate Bill 101, tempered the Religious Freedom Restoration Act which drew a backlash unlike anything ever seen before.  Everything from huge corporations threatening to pull out of the state of Indiana over their anti-LGBTQ law. When the state realized that they have damaged their state far more than they anticipated, the immediately (lighting speed), revised the Religious Freedom Restoration Act which now states that people of faith could not use their faith to justify denying housing, jobs or services based on sexual orientation or gender identity”.

“We don’t want people hiding in wait for us when we go to argue our faith-based principles,” said conservative attorney Jim Bopp of  The Bopp Law Film (pictured right), who represents the conservative groups. “… Nobody wants to be confronted by the government under the penalties of potential fines.” said Bopp.

Attornys representing the cities of Carmel, Bloomington and Columbus, in this case, argued that this lawsuit should be immediately dismissed based on the fact that the nonprofit organizations are well known political advocacy interest groups. In fact, the organization has fewer than six employees which happens to be the minimum requirement for the Employment Provisions to apply to any organization.

Now here is the clincher and why so many people through Governor Pence and his right wing coalition a curve ball because Indianapolis and Bloomington’s ordinances for Human Rights, have been on the books for years but Columbus and Carmel added theirs more recently. This is why Americans nationwide were outraged when the right wing coalition of Indiana’s faith based groups would dare to pass such a anti-LGBTQ or for that matter, Anti-American law.  Interesting how Fort Wayne’s human rights ordinance wasn’t named in the suit but we are sure that the right wing coalition isn’t done just yet.  We are sure to see them pull another crackpot piece of legislation out of their narrow minded hats, in this reporter’s opinion.

One has to wonder why the mainstream media hasn’t confronted Gov. Mike Pence on this issue during the campaign. The Hamilton Superior Court Judge Steven Nation who is handling this case, states that he will render his decision at a later date on whether to let the case proceed.

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