Supporters and opponents of expanded LGBT civil rights protections plan to hold rallies at the Statehouse. It would put new language in state law to expand the nondiscrimination protections that already cover race, gender and age in such areas as housing, employment and public accommodations.
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However, in order to achieve “balance”, they also added protections for religious freedom.
The bill, Senate Bill 100 written by Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, is a good “first attempt” at bridging the gap.
Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma, who has long opposed any measure to improve the lives of LGBT Hoosiers, wasn’t as supportive of the proposed legislation but seemed resigned to the bill’s introduction.
“They come to our churches and our homes and ask for our vote and tell us they will stand and then come here and compromise”, she said.
Republican Senate President Pro Tem David Long confirmed Monday that a bill will be heard during the 2016 session.
The Indiana Democratic Party in a statement accused Pence of using that as an excuse to duck debate over whether civil rights protections should be extended to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Both sides carried placards and wore T-shirts bearing the initials “LGBT”.
According to conservative group Advance America, “making gender identity a protected class will give men, including sexual predators (rapists and child molesters), legal access to women’s restrooms throughout IN, as well as women’s locker rooms IN a fitness facility and other locations like public pools thereby placing women and girls at risk of being harmed!”
The measure would also create a $1,000 penalty for “frivolous” discrimination complaints and prohibit local governments from enacting stricter non-discrimination ordinances. “We need policies that protect every single Hoosier in this state”. Released to coincide with the legislature’s Organization Day, it shows that 55-percent of people surveyed support adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s anti-discrimination law. They also could decide for themselves what dress code to impose on students and workers.
Under the bill, those rules wouldn’t count as discriminatory.
But Holdman and Long said Tuesday the legislation had to be more sweeping and detailed in nature.
“There are parts of this bill that are dealing with a few of the struggles we are seeing today, in particular with the gender identity issue”, Long said.
The legislature will not officially begin its session until January, giving activists time to act.
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“We’re encouraged that the Indiana Senate understands how important it is to address discrimination in IN and has made it a legislative priority to update our state civil rights law to protect gay and transgender people”.
