Indiana Legislature Caves, Guts Religious Freedom
Restoration Act
by Ben Shapiro2 Apr 2015
On Thursday, Indiana
Republicans in the state legislature caved to pressure
from the left regarding the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which simply
preserved the right of religious people to act according to their rights in
their businesses, so long as those principles did not conflict with a
“compelling state interest.”
The amendment to the RFRA actively states that service
providers may not use the RFRA as a defense if they refuse to serve people
based on sexual orientation. Presumably, the Indiana legislators hope that the
RFRA will still protect service providers who refuse to serve same-sex
weddings, since failure to serve same-sex weddings is
not the same as failure to serve gay clients. But that is a flimsy branch upon
which to build an argument for freedom.
In caving to the demands of the left, the state of Indiana
actually enshrined more special rights for gays and lesbians than had existed
before the RFRA was passed. Indiana law made no reference to sexual orientation
in its anti-discrimination statutes prior to the RFRA; now the RFRA itself will
be used as a weapon against religious Americans in Indiana who believe that homosexuality
is a sin, since the law affirmatively prohibits a religious freedom defense
with regard to failure to serve gays and lesbians.
Indiana legislators are so frightened that they plan to
expand state anti-discrimination laws to include sexual orientation explicitly.
Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma said that such legislation “needs to be
discussed.” Bosma said that while the law did not discriminate against gays and
lesbians, “it was the perception that had to be addressed.” He added, “All we
can say is we are sorry that misinterpretation hurt so many people.”
He and his colleagues ought to be sorry, given that they
were happy to make noises about defending religious liberty when it was
politically convenient but now plan to use the government to encroach upon it.
Same-sex weddings
Clifford S.
Asness supported same-sex marriage
in New York, was a leadership council member for the Robin Hood Foundation, and is a director at the International Rescue Committee.
Note: Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Robin Hood Foundation, and the International
Rescue Committee.
George Soros
was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Harold E. Ford Jr. was an overseer at the International
Rescue Committee, a chairman for the Democratic
Leadership Council, and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant
(think tank).
Evan
Bayh was a chairman for the Democratic
Leadership Council, and the Indiana
state government governor & secretary of state.
Democratic
Leadership Council was an affiliated think tank for the Progressive Policy Institute.
Progressive
Policy Institute is a project of the Third Way Foundation Inc.
Third Way
The Third Way, according to New Democrats Online, the Democratic Leadership Council's online community, is "a global movement dedicated
to modernizing progressive politics for the information age. Third Way politics
seeks a new balance of economic dynamism and social security, a new social
compact based on individual rights and responsibilities, and a new model for
governing that equips citizens and communities to solve their own
problems."
Thomas R. Carper
was the vice chairman for the Democratic
Leadership Council, and is an honorary co-chair for the Third Way.
Daniel S. Loeb was
a trustee at the Third Way, and
supported same-sex marriage
in New York.
Georgette F.
Bennett is a trustee at the Third Way, and an overseer at the International Rescue Committee.
Clifford S.
Asness is a director at the International
Rescue Committee, supported same-sex
marriage in New York, was a leadership council member for the Robin Hood Foundation.
Emma
Bloomberg was a senior planning officer for the Robin Hood Foundation, and is Michael
R. Bloomberg’s daughter.
Michael R. Bloomberg
was a donor for the Robin Hood
Foundation, the New York (NY)
mayor, is Emma Bloomberg’s father,
and an advocate for the ONE Campaign.
ONE
Campaign is a partner with the International
Rescue Committee.
Michelle
Obama is an advocate for the ONE
Campaign, and was a lawyer at Sidley
Austin LLP.
Barack
Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin
LLP.
Newton
N. Minow is a senior counsel at Sidley
Austin LLP, and a member of the Commercial
Club of Chicago.
R.
Eden Martin is counsel at Sidley
Austin LLP, and the president of the Commercial
Club of Chicago.
William
M. Daley is a member of the Commercial
Club of Chicago, a trustee at the Third Way, and was the chief of staff for the Barack Obama administration.
Ronald A. Klain
is a trustee at the Third Way, and
a coordinator of government Ebola efforts for the Barack Obama
administration.
Susan McCue is a
trustee at the Third Way, was Harry Reid’s chief of staff, and
the founding president & CEO for the ONE Campaign.
ONE Campaign is
a partner with the International Rescue Committee.
Clifford S.
Asness is a director at the International Rescue Committee, supported
same-sex marriage in New York, was a leadership council member for the Robin
Hood Foundation.
Daniel S. Loeb supported
same-sex marriage in New York, and was a trustee at the Third Way.
Thomas R. Carper
is an honorary co-chair for the Third Way, and was the vice chairman for
the Democratic Leadership Council.
Evan Bayh was a
chairman for the Democratic Leadership Council, the Indiana state
government governor & secretary of state, and is Birch Evans Bayh Jr’s
son.
Birch Evans
Bayh Jr. is Evan Bayh’s father, and was the speaker for the Indiana
House of Representatives.
Dan A. Dumezich
was a member of the Indiana House of Representatives, and a partner at Mayer
Brown.
William M. Daley
Professional career
Daley returned to the practice of law, as a partner with the firm Mayer
Brown (then Mayer, Brown & Platt) from 1993 to 1997.
William M. Daley
was a partner at the Mayer Brown, chief of staff for the Barack Obama
administration, is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and a
trustee at the Third Way.
Melody
C. Barnes was a domestic policy council, director for the Barack Obama administration, a principal
for the Raben Group, and is Barack Obama’s golf partner.
Raben
Group was the lobby firm for the National
Education Association.
John
I. Wilson was an executive director at the National Education Association, and is a director at the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.
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