Indiana Equality Issues Center
Under current law, LGBT people are conspicuously omitted from Indiana civil rights protections. In our state, a person can still be fired or denied credit, housing, or public accommodations simply for being gay or transgender.
Click here to learn more about the need for civil rights protections for LGBT Hoosiers.
Latest News: Rep. Jeb Bardon reintroduced this legislation in the 2008 session and it was assigned to the House Committee on the Judiciary. Rep. Bardon originally introduced this proposal in the 2007 legislative session which would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the state civil rights code. Although the bill was not considered in committee due to this being a short session this year, the LGBT community owes him much thanks for standing with us in this important long-term quest.
Indiana’s legislators in 2005 passed a proposal to amend to the Indiana Constitution to declare that marriage consists only of the union of one man and one woman, and to prohibit the “legal incidents of marriage” from being conferred on unmarried couples. To become law, the proposal would have to be approved again by the legislature in 2007 or 2008, and then by a majority of Indiana voters in 2008. Click here to learn why the Marriage Discrimination Amendment is wrong for Indiana.
Latest News: Senate Joint Resolution 7 (SJR-7) was filed for consideration by the Indiana General Assembly in 2008. This piece of legislation is Indiana’s infamous “Marriage Discrimination Amendment” that would take away the rights of thousands of unmarried couples throughout the state of Indiana. Indiana Equality and its coalition partners led the successful effort to defeat SJR-7 last year. The Indiana Senate overwhelmingly passed SJR-7 again this year, and it has now been sent to the House Rules Committee for consideration. Since SJR-7 did not receive a hearing in the House Rules Committee, it looks as though the legislation is effectively dead for the time being.
Little else matters if you cannot feel safe in your everyday life. Every day, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people are the victims of harassment and violence, particularly at school and the workplace. Sometimes anti-LGBT bias manifests itself as bias-motivated harassment and violence, which harms not only individuals, but also the entire community. Indiana is one of only five states without a bias crimes law. Click here to learn more about the need for bias crimes laws in Indiana.
Latest News: Proposed bias crimes legislation has failed; please thank Rep. Porter for his diligence and commitment. Due to “germaneness” issues, the Indiana House of Representatives failed to consider State Representative Greg Porter’s proposed bias crimes amendment to SB 281. The amendment would have changed Indiana's sentencing laws to allow judges to consider as an aggravating circumstance crimes committed against persons with a disability, and crimes committed against persons intentionally selected by reason of actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, sex, or gender. All Hoosiers have a stake in an effective response to violent bigotry: By making members of minority communities fearful, angry and suspicious of other groups -- and of the power structure that is supposed to protect them -- these incidents can damage the fabric of our society and fragment communities.
Hoosiers are grateful for Rep. Porter's commitment to this important legislation. Please take a moment to thank Rep. Porter for his efforts by e-mailing him at h96@in.gov.