Paul Revere by Cyrus Dallin, North End, Boston

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Monday, March 30, 2015

Well, yeah, Governor Pence, the bill you signed IS state sanctioned discrimination against gays.







Despite what Governor Pence said on the Sunday talk shows about the odious law he signed onto last week, it is a law designed to discriminate against gays.  

Take a look at the men who helped write the bill:
















From the HuffPost:


"Apple CEO, Tim Cook,  said he was opposing the legislation on behalf of Apple Inc. He came out as gay in October, saying that he wanted to make a difference for others. 

 In a letter he wrote then, Cook said, "there are laws on the books in a majority of states that allow employers to fire people based solely on their sexual orientation. There are many places where landlords can evict tenants for being gay, or where we can be barred from visiting sick partners and sharing in their legacies. Countless people, particularly kids, face fear and abuse every day because of their sexual orientation." 

 Cook said in his criticism of religious objection laws that he has great respect for religious freedom, but that it can never be "used as an excuse to discriminate." The legislation is not a political or religious issue, but rather "about how we treat each other as human beings," Cook said. 

 "Opposing discrimination takes courage. With the lives and dignity of so many people at stake, it's time for all of us to be courageous," Cook said.





Charlie Pierce of Esquire: 

"... the House Cup was clinched by Mike Pence, the big bag of hammers who governs Indiana, who dropped by This Week With The Clinton Guy Shocked By Blowjobs, and who wrapped up the competition in the first three minutes of his appearance. This may have been the worst performance by a politician on a Sunday Show I ever saw. In fact, it may be the worst performance by a purported human being in he history of television. 

As you may have guessed, Pence came on to defend his signing of the anti-gay Religious Freedom Restoration Act at a private ceremony last week, and to explain how Jesus wanted him to drive his local business community mad, and his local tourism economy into the abyss. He began by distorting a little history. 

 PENCE: The Religious Freedom Restoration Act was signed into federal law by President Bill Clinton more than 20 years ago. And it lays out a framework for ensuring that a very high level of scrutiny is given any time government action impinges on the religious liberty of any American. After that, some 19 states followed that, adopted that statute. And after last year's Hobby Lobby case, Indiana properly brought the same version that then state senator Barack Obama voted for in Illinois before our legislature. And I was proud to sign it into law last week. But, look, I think -- I understand that there's been a tremendous amount of misinformation and misunderstanding around this bill, and I'm just determined -- and I appreciate the time on your program -- I'm just determined to clarify this. This is about protecting the religious liberty of people of faith and families of faith across this country, that's what it's been for more than 20 years, and that's what it is now as the law in Indiana, George. 

The problem Pence had was that he was barbering the history with which The Clinton Guy was quite familiar. 

STEPHANOPOULOS: But I think one of the problems that people have pointed out is that in Indiana, your civil rights laws don't include sexual orientation as a protected class. And even some of the supporters of the bill who were -- who appeared with you when you signed the bill, Eric Miller of Advanced America wrote that, "It will protect those who oppose gay marriage." He put up this example. He said, "Christian bakers, florists and photographers should not be punished for refusing to participate in a homosexual marriage." 

So this is a yes or no question. Is Advance America right when they say a florist in Indiana can now refuse to serve a gay couple without fear of punishment? As Pence demonstrated, however, this was not a yes-or-no question. There actually were three answers. There was yes, and there was no, and there also was, "Holy fk, what have I done? Run and hide!"

READ THE REST HERE.

3 comments:

Dave Miller said...

What he said? Here's what he said when asked if the new law would allow state sponsored discrimination.... ".......... " or as us more liberal folks might interpret it, nothing.

Each time he was asked for a simple yes, or no answer, he demurred.

Later he did say perhaps the legislature would pass another law explaining the law they just passed.

What?

Here's a hint. If you need a law to explain a law you just passed, perhaps the first one was not very well written. Or, it was perfectly written and you are trying to hide from all logical conclusions.

Ray Cranston said...

60% of Americans accept marriage equality. Marriage equality is the law in 37 states. What we're seeing here is a segment of the population fighting against the inevitable. Just like that segment fought against interracial marriage, which they used the Bible to prohibit. In a few years, this will all be history. The younger voters who are "nones" (no religion) don't agree with the talibanists trying to legislate discrimination against minorities.

Anonymous said...

You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.