New law explicitly denies conscience protections for small business owners; LGBT Lobby not appeased — demands full ENDA-type legislation for Indiana

Appeasement Emboldens ‘Gay’ Lobby: Graphic for homosexual activist group Human Rights Campaign demands more pro-homosexual legislation in Indiana following the Republican-led legislature’s and Gov. Mick Pence’s capitulation negating the state’s Religious Freedom law. Click on HRC.org graphic above to enlarge.

By Peter LaBarbera

In a stunning, politically-correct turnaround following a week of LGBT protests and media and business opposition, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence yesterday signed into law a pro-homosexual legislative “fix” of the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)–effectively turning it into Indiana’s first statewide homosexual “rights” law.

The language of the revised RFRA crafted by Indiana’s Republican House and Senate leaders and signed into law by Gov. Pence stipulates that the new RFRA “does not authorize a provider to refuse to offer or provide services, facilities, use of public accommodation, goods, employment, or housing” to any Indiana citizen on the basis of “sexual orientation” and “gender identity”–in addition to the usual criteria such as race, sex and disability. [See the full language HERE.]

When asked specifically at a press conference yesterday if the revised RFRA legislation could be used to defend the besieged owners of an Indiana pizza shop who told a reporter that theoretically they would not serve a homosexual “wedding,” Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma said:

“We can unequivocally say that RFRA cannot be used to discriminate against anyone.”

The law still protects churches and religious, non-profit organizations from being forced to participate in homosexual “weddings”–but not everyday small businessmen like the owners of the Indianapolis cookie stand “Just Cookies.” In 2012, the Christian owners of Just Cookies declined on principle to make “rainbow cookies” for a homosexual student group at Purdue University-Indianapolis. “Gay’ activists led a campaign against the company using Indianapolis’ “sexual orientation” statute; ultimately the owners settled with the city without paying damages. [To read about other conscience victims of the homosexual agenda, see this WND Whistleblower article by the author.]

LGBT Activist Mocks the Lord: above is a Tweet sent out just before Christmas by influential Indiana “gay” activist Bil Browning. Secular leftists mock Christians and the Christian faith by referring to Jesus Christ as “Jeebus.” AFTAH President Peter LaBarbera responded on Twitter to Browning’s bigotry. See full Twitter exchange HERE.

“If government can compel a Christian or Orthodox Jewish businessman to participate in a ceremony that attaches sinful homosexuality to “marriage,” then the State can compel ANY American citizen or institution to violate ANY of their cherished beliefs. That is the essence of tyranny.”

By Peter LaBarbera; Twitter: @PeterLaBarbera

Contact: 312-324-3787; americansfortruth@gmail.com

In the wake of a pro-LGBT, media-driven campaign against Indiana’s new Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), Gov. Mike Pence and leaders of the Indiana legislature are backtracking to appease the liberal political mob that has cynically recast the law as the “License to Discriminate.”

Good people everywhere are now intimidated from speaking plain truths about the homosexual-bisexual-transgender agenda. Americans For Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH) is not. The distortions and media hype attacking Indiana’s religious freedom law are obfuscating some key fundamentals in this debate. It is not the purpose here to dig into the “legaleze” about the law (for that, see this Reason.com piece) but rather to expose the core hypocrisy of pro-LGBT progressives on “discrimination.”

Homosexual activists and their sycophants in the media (e.g., CNN’s homosexual anchor/activist Don Lemon) are cunningly building upon their distortions of the RFRA to demand a pro-homosexual special-rights law in the Hoosier State.

It would be the cruelest of ironies if the media-driven backlash against Indiana’s religious freedom law were used to push through a statewide “gay rights” law in Indiana. Such pro-homosexual laws and corporate policies have been the engine driving PRO-LGBT DISCRIMINATION against people of faith for decades—all in the sweet-sounding name of “equality.” For example, the “gay” movement’s bullying of the Boy Scouts of America began with a lawsuit that relied upon New Jersey’s pro-homosexual “sexual orientation” law.

The pro-family movement has long referred to so-called nondiscrimination laws based on “sexual orientation” and ”gender identity” as “special rights” because genuine civil rights are not based on disordered, immoral sexual behavior and gender confusion. These Orwellian laws and corporate policies actually foment discrimination in the name of “non-discrimination.” That’s liberalism for you.

Our cherished American freedoms come ultimately from God, as recognized by our national charter, the Declaration of Independence, which appeals to “Nature and Nature’s God.” Homosexual behavior–which cannot produce life–is against both. Witness the grossly disproportionate STD rates linked to “men who have sex with men.”

It is ludicrous to posit “civil rights” based on homosexuality and gender rebellion as “constitutional.” But it is downright un-American to argue—as many LGBT activists do—that in a nation founded by people fleeing religious oppression, “rights” based on sexual sin should trump Americans’ freedom to uphold biblical sexual morality and real marriage between a man and a woman.

The LGBT Lobby and the media have raised the issue of potential discrimination in Indiana. Let’s talk about discrimination.

With the rise of “gay power” in the West has come an abundance of victims of pro-homosexual Political Correctness. All over the world, Christians and moral-minded citizens have been victimized by a liberal, elitist pro-homosexual orthodoxy that increasingly brooks no dissent. The media have trivialized the zero-sum conflict between “gay rights” and freedom of conscience as being merely about wedding cake bakers–but the escalating “LGBTyranny” goes far beyond that:

Taking Social Conservatives for Granted? Some leading Indiana grassroots, pro-family conservatives have complained that Gov. Mike Pence (above)–a potential GOP presidential candidate in 2016–did not use his office more boldly and effectively to help push through an amendment, HJR 3, that would preserve the sanctity of marriage as one-man, one-woman in Indiana.

Congratulations to Micah Clark, the Indiana Family Association, and all Indiana pro-family and pro-life conservatives for their resounding victories on Election Day! Gov. Mike Pence, here’s the bottom line: are you listening to the people of your state, or the ‘liberal-tarian’ or “moderate” Republican elites and left-leaning media pundits inside the Beltway? The latter’s tired mantra to “avoid the social issues” is–like so much that goes on in Washington, D.C.–out of touch with the GOP’s grassroots conservative base. Yes, we needed this good news! — Peter LaBarbera, Americans For Truth About Homosexuality

This article is taken from AFA-Indiana e-newsletter, May 7, 2014:

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Huge Wins for Conservatives; Vindication in Primary Results

By Micah Clark, Executive Director, Indiana Family Association

[The May 6, 2014 Indiana] primary election was as close to an across the board sweep as you will ever see in politics. Republican voters finally got their chance in a few state legislative districts to express their anger over the failure of the GOP-dominated statehouse to pass a marriage protection amendment [HJR 3]. If only there had been more conservative challengers in legislative races where establishment Republicans had voted for the unraveling of marriage.

In addition, incumbents targeted for their defense of social conservatism won as well. You may recall when Rep. Bob Morris stood alone under immense criticism for pointing out that the Girl Scouts of America’s national organization had grown closer and closer to Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider. The establishment loathes conservatives whom they cannot control and Bob is one of those. In spite of a misguided high-profile pro-life endorsement of his pro-homosexual “marriage” opponent, Bob won the primary re-election yesterday.

Likewise, same-sex “marriage” supporters targeted Rep. Milo Smith, who chaired the committee that passed HJR 3 on to the House floor after Representatives Torr, McNamara and Leonard blocked it in the House Judiciary Committee. Liberals, who claim to support homosexuals, viciously “outed” Rep. Smith’s son–trying to personally hurt the Smith family and Milo’s re-election. Milo’s challenger was an executive with Cummins Engine, a key proponent of homosexual “marriage” in Indiana. Yet, when all was said and done, even in the sometimes more moderate Columbus area, Smith won with 59 percent of the vote.

The House author of HJR 3, Rep. Eric Turner, was tarnished with an ethics investigation that the media covered extensively. Yet, when he was exonerated of any wrong doing last week, the media coverage was incredibly thin. (Pro-same-sex “marriage” Republican legislators may have leaked his privately speaking about a bill upon which he did not even vote.) Rep. Turner also won with 59 percent opponent who had ironically called Turner’s authoring of HJR 3 “an abomination.”

The biggest victories for conservatives came in northern Indiana where the Chair of the House committee on Family and Children, Rebecca Kubacki, was trounced nearly 2-1 by her opponent. She had voted against the marriage amendment after previously campaigning as “a Catholic who would defend marriage” when first elected. She then seemed to lie about the entire process the amendment went through. Curt Nisely hammered Kubacki on her voting record, which included votes against natural marriage, against religious freedom for church childcare ministries, and for the Common Core.

Nearby, Rep. Kathy Heuer in Whitley and Allen Counties lost big as well for the same three issues. Chris Judy, an outstanding candidate, surprised even his own team by winning 60% of the vote, even handily defeating Heuer in her home county. Not even an endorsement from the Governor helped Rep. Heuer, in fact, it may have hurt her. (More on that later.)

The third establishment candidate mutually targeted by pro-family activist groups, including the AFA of Indiana PAC was Rep. Casey Cox. He was gifted with a three-way primary in which both candidates split the protest vote that came mostly from our radio exposure of Casey’s flip-flop in support for homosexual “marriage.” Even though neither of his opponents did any mail or radio, Cox ended the night with less than 50 percent of the vote in a race that he should have easily won with his significant money and campaign staff advantages.

Yesterday’s primary also saw the selection of two outstanding pro-family newcomers to the State Senate who should win their Republican districts this fall. The first is Liz Brown in Fort Wayne who replaces the retiring state Senator Tom Wyss. The other newcomer is Jeff Raatz in Richmond who won in the seat of retiring Senator Allen Paul. Jeff Raatz will bring a good perspective on education, charity and family with his work with New Creations Ministry for troubled teens.