Indiana Politics

It's no secret that I love Indiana but hate the politics in this state that has been my home since 1988. Why am I still here?  I'm not sure.  I have always been too trusting, believing in the underdog, in second chances, and in redemption.  I believe in the truth as the only way for people to make their life's decisions, yet I have been surrounded by folks who either cannot or will not speak the truth due to their personal or political perceptions.  And it causes me to lose faith in mankind.

I was in Indiana when Governor Pence signed a new bill into law...the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.  It was a private signing, with only a few religious zealots in attendance.  Then I drove to Illinois to be with my daughter and family for a bunch of family events...and the Indiana "stuff" hit the fan.  In very short order, Indiana was in the national news.

By way of background, let me explain that there are a growing number of Christians in this country who believe that their "rights" are being attacked by society.  (Nothing could be further from the truth.)  Still, when the Indiana legislature was thwarted by the courts to pass an amendment to the Indiana Constitution for the express purpose of forbidding same-sex marriages, this bill suddenly emerged and was pushed through quickly and without much fanfare.  The law essentially provided a legal excuse for people to deny services to those of whose lifestyles they disapprove for religious reasons.  (This is already covered in the Federal Constitution and is not needed on a state level.) Were it not for the closeness of the defeat of the old attempts to discriminate at the court level and the appearance of this new law, people might not have noticed.  As it was, the whole world was watching, and the whole world came down on Indiana!

I have read and believe that Governor Pence was advised--if not begged--by people whose jobs include promoting the state as a welcoming place to be NOT to sign that bill into law.  He ignored them in favor of his Christian contributors...then seemed totally blindsided by the backlash that hit. Indiana was suddenly deemed a redneck state that had legalized discrimination against gays (and any other minorities) for religious reasons.  It got ugly.  I will admit that I was somewhat jubilant that the man and the politics were getting the negative attention that they deserved, but it also reflected against me as a resident of the state for these many years.  Pence immediately set up a nationally televised interview about the new law, and failed miserably in his attempt to explain the unexplainable.  He made a laughing stock of us all...saying that the law was not intended to do the very thing it was designed to do!!

In short order, Pence and his cronies passed an amendment to the law, including words that made it sound like folks could not discriminate against gays or other same-sex relationships...which is against the very reason that the law came into being in the first place.  But I think the damage was already done.  In one stroke of the pen, Governor Pence did more to hurt the State of Indiana than any other governor could have done.  I won't live long enough to see this repaired.  The "brain drain" will continue.  We have some wonderful colleges in Indiana, and the graduates will move elsewhere. That's just the way it is.

Pence's defenders point to the fact that other states have the same kind of law on their books...at least now that Indiana's law has been amended...but my question is:  Why was it needed in the first place? If you don't like same-sex marriage, don't marry someone of your sex.  If you believe that homosexuality rubs off from contact with gays, stay away from them (although I don't think that anyone fears the same in reverse).  I am a Christian.  I follow Christ.  The Master tells me that I must love my neighbor...not judge anyone...pray in secret...repent of my sins for forgiveness...and love God with my heart, soul, and mind.  I try.

So...what's in it for you?  Do you choose to judge and hate and rant against society for robbing you of freedoms you've always had?  Indiana--where do you stand??