Donald Trump Projected to Win Indiana Republican Primary

MESS

Watch Live: Indiana Republican & Democratic Primary Election Results

Indiana Senate Committee Advances Bill that leaves out the Transgender Community

Yesterday, Indiana's Senate committee stopped SB 66, an strong anti-gay RFRA bill.

But the fight wasn't over, later that day, the same group heard SB 100 and SB 344. SB 100 would create LGBT protections state wide, similar to the already existing anti-discrimination protections already based on race, disability and age. SB 100 would also give exemptions to small businesses and religious organizations.

SB 344 would allow cities to keep their ordinances, but not provide protections for the transgender community. Well, after the debate, SB 344 advanced to the Senate. The organization, Indiana Competes responded to the decision:

This evening, members of Indiana Competes, a coalition of more than 425 Hoosier businesses and associations, joined LGBT rights supporters and faith leaders to testify before the Senate Rules Committee. Senate Bill 344 was amended and passed out of committee and will be up for consideration by the full Senate. The following statement should be attributed to Peter Hanscom, initiative director of Indiana Competes:

“The legislature had a chance to strengthen Indiana tonight and make our state more competitive, but this opportunity was not seized. We want to believe the General Assembly is sincere in their efforts to pass meaningful legislation to eliminate discrimination, but tonight’s hearing showed Indiana missing another opportunity.

“The Hoosier business community has said from the beginning that Indiana must be a place that welcomes all, not most. We respect the legislative process and will continue to work with the General Assembly, but we will not support a final bill that does not provide for equal rights for the entire LGBT community.

“Business owners, faith leaders and anti-discrimination supporters have shared the message tonight that Senate Bill 344 is still woefully inadequate because it leaves out the transgender community and provides numerous allowances for additional discrimination. That is not the answer.”

Freedom Indiana also responded:

“Lawmakers still aren’t listening. Tonight, they took a bad bill and made it worse for LGBT people in our state who have to live each day in fear that they could be fired, denied housing or turned away from a public place for who they are.

“Senate Bill 344 continues to fall far short of ending legal discrimination against LGBT people in our state. As amended, it repeals the Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act but replaces it with substandard protections that omit transgender people entirely and provide religious carveouts that undermine the very purpose of the civil rights law. We will continue to work with lawmakers to fix this bill, but we are disappointed that they have not made the substantive changes we know a majority of Hoosiers want to make our state open and welcoming to all people.

This battle continues.

WATCH Rihanna Slams RFRA at March Madness Fest

This past Saturday at the March Madness Fest in Indianapolis, Rihanna had some words about Indiana's RFRA. In middle of performing her new song,'American Oxygen,’ she slammed the divisive law.

Watch

rih on the religious freedom bill pic.twitter.com/cOhGZ9TMKq
— Mikela (@innerwildflower) April 5, 2015

Interesting Quote: John Mellencamp

From John's website

In recent days I’ve been asked to give my opinion about what’s been going on in our state. Do I agree or disagree with the Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act? What am I going to say, or do, about it? Am I going to cancel any of my upcoming Indiana shows? As many of the Star’s readers know, I have lived in Indiana since the day I was born, and I know firsthand that our state is populated with a great diversity of people who hold varying religious and political beliefs. The people in our neighborhoods are also racially diverse, live in different types of family units and also span a broad spectrum of sexual and gender identities. Indiana is now, in many ways, the American Melting Pot we all learned about in school. We are more than just tolerant, most of the time. We are welcoming.

So it is with a very heavy heart that I’ve watched the divisiveness that has occurred over our state government's actions. I am not questioning the sincerity of those who believe they have acted in the interests of religious freedom, but I am resolutely stating my opposition to this misnamed and ill-conceived law. It is discriminatory, hurtful, and a stain on Indiana’s national reputation. I understand Governor Pence and the state legislature are working on some changes to the law’s language, and I can only hope that they will do the right thing for the people of our state.

I have thought seriously about canceling my upcoming shows, not wanting the resulting tax revenues from ticket sales, concessions and the like to help fill the same government coffers that would enforce this terrible law. But then I realized that I would be letting our government divide us again, keeping me apart from my most important audience: My Indiana fans who have been there for me from the very beginning. Our evenings together will be about music, and hopefully this situation will be made right by the time I see you in May.

In Indiana: Memories Pizza says they will Refuse Service to Gays, Now Shut Down!

Get ready to be trolled on Yelp


Ha! And what do you know, the pizza place shut down! TMZ reports:

Kevin O’Connor tells TMZ he's had to temporarily close his business after he told a reporter he would refuse to cater a gay wedding under Indiana's new Religious Freedom Restoration Act. O'Connor says he was immediately flooded by threatening phone calls, and social media postings.

O'Connor wants to clear up one thing: He says he would never deny service to gay people in his restaurant. However, due to his religious beliefs, he does not believe in gay marriage ... and that's why he wouldn't service one.
Meanwhile, he says the threats have been serious enough that he's closing his pizza joint ... at least until the dust settles.

This is golden.

USC Athletic Director Pat Haden tweets his support for his Gay Son, and disapproval of Indiana

This is cool!

USC Athletic Director Pat Haden is a legend at USC. And when he speaks, everyone listens.

This tweet today, spoke in volumes

I am the proud father of a gay son. In his honor, I will not be attending the CFP committee meeting in Indy this week. #EmbraceDiversity

— Pat Haden (@ADHadenUSC) March 31, 2015

Go Pat!

Tea Cruz: "I’m proud to stand with Gov. Mike Pence"

From his website

“I want to commend Governor Mike Pence for his support of religious freedom, especially in the face of fierce opposition. There was a time, not too long ago, when defending religious liberty enjoyed strong bipartisan support. Alas, today we are facing a concerted assault on the First Amendment, on the right of every American to seek out and worship God according to the dictates of his or her conscience. Governor Pence is holding the line to protect religious liberty in the Hoosier State. Indiana is giving voice to millions of courageous conservatives across this country who are deeply concerned about the ongoing attacks upon our personal liberties. I’m proud to stand with Mike, and I urge Americans to do the same.”

Whatever

Jeb Bush supports Indiana's RFRA - AUDIO

READ The Indy Star's Editorial on Gov. Pence and RFRA

It's good folks!

Go here

New Site breaks down the Truth about RFRA

A new site, wrongtorefuse.com, has a great way to look at the effects of the RFRA.

The opening line states:

With the passage of Indiana’s SB 101 (and more “religious freedom" laws pending elsewhere in the U.S.), discrimination against all kinds of people has never been so simple. 

Full of condemnation, but low on creativity? Print, post, and share these handy pre-made signs!

Check them out

Eric (The Goon) Powell's comic strip commentary on Indiana's RFRA law

Love it

Here's What You need to Know about the Folks behind Indiana's Right to Discriminate Bill

George Stephanopoulos GRILLS Indiana Gov. Mike Pence over the Religious Freedom Bill - WATCH

Now, Gov. Mike Pence seeks Clarification of the Religious Freedom Bill

Gov. Mike Pence thought he was a champion of the far right by signing that religious freedom bill in Indiana. But now, the fire is getting hot and the pressure is on!

Since the signing the bill into law, groups are ending ties with the state, a boycott is on the rise, and yesterday, there was a huge protest outside of the statehouse. With the reality of this mess coming on strong, Mike has decided to seek clarification of the bill, in hopes it doesn't discriminate against the LGBT community.

The governor told the Indy Star:

“I support religious liberty, and I support this law. But we are in discussions with legislative leaders this weekend to see if there’s a way to clarify the intent of the law.”

Hmm, so it's possible the bill could change a bit. But, would it be better to drop it? Just get rid of the stupid bill! His actions have already tarnished his legacy, he could savage some of it and drop it!

We will learn more next week once the General Assembly meets, but I love that the kitchen is getting hot for Mikey!

Brian Brown on Indiana's Right To Discriminate Bill

From his press release

"The state of Indiana has stepped up to the plate in defending marriage and religious freedom. If you remember, a federal judge recently struck down Indiana's state marriage amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. That decision will be subject to whatever Supreme Court ruling is issued this summer. But the marriage champions in the Hoosier state wouldn't sit back and wait. They acted to defend marriage and religious liberty by passing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act this week by overwhelming majorities in the state House and Senate. Governor Pence just signed the bill yesterday. The new legislation protects individuals who wish to live their lives and run their businesses in keeping with their sincere and deeply held religious beliefs. I'd like to thank Governor Pence and the brave legislators of the state of Indiana for being pro-active in defending marriage and religious liberty, and urge every state in the union to follow their lead in passing similar legislation."

I can't with him today

Did some Hackers take down Indiana's Website?

Oh snap, some hacker group called Vikingdom2015 just took down the Indiana's website. But a spokesman for the Indiana Office of Technology says otherwise

Here's more

Graig Lubsen, a spokesman for the Indiana Office of Technology, issued the following statement:

"The IN.gov website is currently experiencing a high volume of traffic. Users may experience slow page load times or intermittent outages.

"Indiana, like many other states, has been targeted with a denial of service interruption. From March 16 to March 27, a group, has targeted approximately 34 state, local, tribal, and territorial government websites in 21 states.

"The website was not hacked. A denial of service attack consists of sending many traffic requests at the same time in order to overwhelm a website and have it not be able to load.

"The denial of service interruption began at approximately 2:00, but the site has not been continuously down."

This drama in Indiana is getting good.

source 

James Van Der Beek on Indiana's Religious Freedom Bill

"If you say you love this country for its freedoms, but want to deny gays the same freedoms you enjoy, you sound like a hypocrite..."

— James Van Der Beek (@vanderjames) March 27, 2015

And - just to clarify - "freedom" is the right to live how you choose. It's not the right to choose how everyone else lives."

— James Van Der Beek (@vanderjames) March 27, 2015

Also - I remember Jesus saying "Don't judge..." & "Love your neighbor as yourself." I don't recall him saying it was cool to discriminate.

— James Van Der Beek (@vanderjames) March 27, 2015

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signs the Discriminatory Religious Freedom Bill

I signed SEA 101 today to ensure religious liberty is fully protected under IN law http://t.co/vCOASZBZnH pic.twitter.com/CMFJh6aLDx
— Governor Mike Pence (@GovPenceIN) March 26, 2015

Old folks used to say, "If you do something in the dark, you know it's wrong." Well, that's what happened today, when Gov. Mike Pence signed the discriminatory SB 101 in his Statehouse office.

This fool said:

"Today I signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, because I support the freedom of religion for every Hoosier of every faith. The Constitution of the United States and the Indiana Constitution both provide strong recognition of the freedom of religion but today, many people of faith feel their religious liberty is under attack by government action."

Whatever, this gives businesses the right to discriminate against the LGBT community through religious means. It's nothing but discrimination cloaked in 'God's Love'.

Governor Pence, you are a pure disgrace.

source

In Indiana: Gen Con will leave the state if the controversial SB 101 is signed into law

This Indiana Religious Freedom bill is causing a stir and it's not even signed in. The largest gaming convention, Gen Con, has put their geek foot down and informed Indiana Governor Mike Pence that if he signs the bill into law, they are pulling out.

The letter says:

This con brings in 50 million to the state, so they got the clout. Let's sit back and sees what happens.


source