Indiana AFA Leader Micah Clark Debunks Myths about SB 101 Religious Freedom Bill – Gov. Pence Expected to Sign

Micah Clark

Congratulations to American Family Association of Indiana Executive Director Micah Clark and other pro-family leaders in the state for passage of SB 101, which hopefully will help protect the freedom of conscience of Indiana citizens for decades to come. I also read a good piece on Reason.com by Scott Shackfork debunking the main objection to the bill–which homosexual and transgender activists are smearing as the “Indiana Right to Discriminate” law.

Pro-homosexual and pro-transgender laws discriminate against people of faith and morality and women desiring privacy in public restrooms, respectively, but I suppose that kind of discrimination is tolerable to the Left because it accelerates the “gay” and “progressive” transformation of society. Thank God that defenders of liberty are fighting back. Below Clark answers some of the lies against SB 101. — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH; Twitter: @PeterLaBarbera

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Hobby Lobby Bill Has Been Sent to Governor Pence

By Micah Clark, AFA of Indiana

Yesterday Senate Bill 101 cleared the last procedural step before going to the Governor’s office.  After the bill passed the Indiana House on Monday by a solid 63-31 vote, the Senate voted on the concurrence motion with another strong vote of 40-10.

The bill is now headed to the Governor’s office.  Yet, this movement has not stopped the silliness surrounding this tested legislation.  Yesterday, I even had a call at the AFA-IN office that nearly takes the cake, though it is hard to get beyond the vile allegation that this would allow people of faith to bomb abortion clinics.  The confused caller was worried that our Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) could be used to keep certain people of faith from being allowed to drive on the Indiana toll roads.

The hostility of the far Left never ceases to amaze me.  Ironically, one thing this debate has revealed is the deep hostility that is out there against people of faith.  It practically makes the case as to why SB 101 is needed.   If you still doubt that those on the political Left and those in the homosexual activist movement want to force all people, including those with deep religious conviction, to embrace the homosexual agenda, then you haven’t paid close attention to this debate over religious liberty.

There have been so many lies repeated in the media and by opponents on this legislation that it is difficult to know where to start. Perhaps the best way, though, by no means comprehensive is to address a few things in bullet points.  Here I go:

• “A license to discriminate” – perhaps the biggest lie about this law is that it is a vehicle for discrimination.  As I noted in the AFA-IN donor newsletter, Indiana Family Voice, SB 101 is only discriminatory if we radically redefine discrimination, which many liberals and homosexuals clearly want to do.  This law does not allow a person of faith to deny service to someone, nor should it.  No Christian bakery owner should say that people involved in homosexual behavior couldn’t shop in their bakery.  That, in my opinion is wrong, un-Christian and discriminatory unless the patron is misbehaving ( i.e. “no shirt, no shoes, no service“).   However, when a customer seeks special participation from the baker, asking him or her to specially decorate a “gay” wedding cake and come set it up at a homosexual wedding, then there is a very different line crossed, and a problem for most people of faith.  However, while SB 101 could be cited as a defense in such a case, as could the 1^st Amendment, courts thus far have not seen RFRA as very compelling in such cases.

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  Indiana Gov. Mike Pence is expected to sign SB 101 into law.

  Indiana will not lose conventions like Gen Con due to SB 101.  As I noted last week, this scare tactic over conventions has been disproven by the majority of top convention cities in America occurring in states with this law.   (If we did actually lose a convention now, it would be the fault of the lies and fear about this bill, not because of the language of the bill.)

• Indiana will not lose sporting events due to SB 101.  I would not be surprised if the next big threat comes from the increasingly politically correct National Football League.  Yet, the top five Super Bowl Cities in America have collectively hosted over 30 Super Bowls.  All five of those cities are in RFRA states.
• Indianapolis will not lose the Final 4 basketball tournament.  One liberal State Senator during yesterday’s concurrence debate claimed that Indianapolis would never host another Final Four.  Once again, the reality is that the majority of recent Final Four tournaments have been in cities in RFRA states.    Former NBA player, Jason Collins who is most notable not for his basketball career, but for recently announcing how he choose to have sex (as if the world needed to know this) made some silly comment that the media jumped on. It concerned coming to Indy to watch the Final 4.  Three of the NBA teams Collins played for, including where he was first drafted, are in RFRA states.
• SB 101 will not overturn laws protecting children in day care or women from domestic violence.  This is a common claim that totally ignores that the government has an unquestionable “compelling interest” in the safety of women and children.  RFRA simply cannot be used to throw out that legal precedent willy-nilly as opponents try to claim.
• In addition to revealing their deep hostility to faith, SB 101 is revealing the character of the political Left.  One of the saddest comments this week occurred on the Indiana House floor when Rep. Venessa Summers shocked many when she said that Majority Floor Leader Jud McMillian’s son was afraid of her because she has black skin.  She was playing the race card on this issue.  Her comment came after she told the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Tim Wesco, that he could not be discriminated against because he is white. I question that broad assumption, but going after Rep. McMillian’s son Jasper was really out of bounds. Jasper is only 18 months old, and no doubt routinely turns away from new people.
• Learn More: If you would like to read more false claims about RFRA’s, National Review addressed them in an excellent article earlier this year called, “Why We Need RFRA’s,” here: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/410893/why-we-need-rfras-howard-slug. See also: http://reason.com/blog/2015/03/24/indianas-so-called-right-to-discriminate

(Next week, I will list some examples of how this law has been used to better explain its positive impact.)