It’s no secret that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act has created an uproar of opposition and gained ?national attention.
In the days between the bill’s passing the legislature and crossing Gov. Mike Pence’s desk, my news feed was awash in opinions, shared articles declaring embarrassment to be a Hoosier when such backwardness was possible.
Then, the boycotts started rolling in: first San Francisco announced its abstinence of travel to Indiana, then the whole state of Connecticut.
Celebrities and interest groups tweeted at Pence to notify him of their refusal to participate in events in a state that is so eager to openly ?discriminate. What’s most frustrating about the situation is that we so clearly aren’t.
I do not believe Indiana residents are hateful or backward. Sure, there are pockets of extreme conservatism that can be characterized that way in the typical pattern of a heartland Midwestern region. The extreme outrage is certainly evidence that Hoosiers resent Pence deeply for invoking this ugly, false stereotype upon us. In fact, Indiana citizens have opposed RFRA so passionately and vocally that Pence was forced to clarify its intention on several major news sources and eventually demand a fix to the bill that will limit the scope of its oppression.
Hoosiers aren’t archaic or intolerant. We’re not chomping at the bit to throw LGBTQ+ individuals out of our ?establishments and marginalize them in the name of ?religious freedom. We do, however, deserve the nation’s scorn. America is accusing Indiana of the wrong crime; rather than punishing us for being discriminatory, condemn us for being ?uninformed and lazy.
A popular link to circulate was a petition to recall Pence. Thankfully, my high school history teacher gave Facebook a quick civics lesson and reminded all the embarrassed Hoosiers that we do not recall governors in ?Indiana. What we do have, he pointed out, are elections — processes that are theoretically designed to engage the public in the selection process for state leaders and allow us the opportunity to be represented correctly by our officials. Theoretically.
In 2014, only 13 percent of eligible voters in Indiana made it to the polls during the primary elections, where many would assert the decisions are truly made. 13 percent isn’t even close to half, let alone a majority, which means that the bulk of Indiana — the compassionate, tolerant, hospitable people I know — aren’t the ones choosing leaders that are anything but.
Now, the entire voter registration process is entirely online and so painfully simple there’s absolutely no excuse to shirk one’s civic duty by failing to submit an opinion. If we do not vote, we do not earn the right to complain when legislation we ?despise becomes law.
sbkissel@indiana.edu
