"Joy and pleasure are as real as pain and sorrow and one must learn what they have to teach. . . ." -- Sean Russell, from Gatherer of Clouds

"If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right." -- Helyn D. Goldenberg

"I love you and I'm not afraid." -- Evanescence, "My Last Breath"

“If I hear ‘not allowed’ much oftener,” said Sam, “I’m going to get angry.” -- J.R.R. Tolkien, from Lord of the Rings

Friday, March 27, 2015

What's Interesting About Indiana

In fact, about the only thing interesting about Indiana, is the pushback on the new "religious freedom" bill. Towleroad has a summary of some of the organizations that are joining in.

One of the most notable is the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), which is looking into moving its 2017 General Assembly:

Response from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) leadership regarding the signing of ‪#‎SB101‬:

"Thank you for the overwhelming response supporting our opposition to SB101. Unfortunately, Governor Pence has signed the bill. We will keep you posted (and please be patient) as we sort through the contracts, costs, and decisions around the 2017 General Assembly. We also have attorneys reviewing similar legislation in the states that are finalists for 2019 and in states where we would consider moving the 2017 General Assembly. Not all of these bills are the same and there is a lot of misinformation about each of the state laws.

We are ONE people serving the ONE who welcomes us all.

Salesforce was one of the first to react:


And today, the CEO of Yelp warned those states that have or are considering similar bills:

It is unconscionable to imagine that Yelp would create, maintain, or expand a significant business presence in any state that encouraged discrimination by businesses against our employees, or consumers at large. I encourage states that are considering passing laws like the one rejected by Arizona or adopted by Indiana to reconsider and abandon these discriminatory actions. (We’re looking at you, Arkansas.) I hope that in the future the legislatures in the nineteen states that have these laws on the books will reconsider their actions. In the mean time, Yelp will make every effort to expand its corporate presence only in states that do not have these laws allowing for discrimination on the books. I also hope that other companies will draw a similar line in the sand for equality on behalf of their employees and the greater public to persuade legislators to do the right thing and stop or rescind these harmful laws.

And, a small coda, the mayor of San Francisco has banned all city-funded travel to Indiana.

It starts to look as though Indiana bit off more than it can chew.




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