To the editor:
This is the letter that we delivered to House Speaker Brian Bosma yesterday (Jan. 22) in person and was being delivered this morning (Jan. 23) to other state representatives.
“We the undersigned respectfully ask you to reject any and all attempts to pass a hate/bias/thought crimes bill for the following reasons.
“Such bills are constitutionally suspect. They violate the premise that all citizens are to be treated equally. (Article 1, section 23, Indiana constitution. This article also protects freedom of religious belief.) Bias or hate crime bills are unnecessary because our judges already have the ability to increase sentences for egregious acts against any citizen.
“The bills are unwarranted as well. Claims that companies won’t relocate in Indiana if it doesn’t have a hate crimes bill are bogus. Companies first consider such issues as taxes, regulation, land availability and use, transportation, utilities, labor availability, etc. Lists from consulting firms that relocate or site companies or facilities don’t list hate crimes. Simply put, a hate crimes bill matters little or not at all.
“There were 76 incidents reported as likely hate crimes in our state in 2016. This is 0.0002 percent of 384,382 crimes reported that year. Our state also ranks near the bottom in such incidents. This is a solution chasing a problem that doesn’t exist and is therefore unneeded. The few incidents that occur are already being sentenced.
“It is patently unjust to care less about victims of identical crimes that don’t fall under a list of politically protected crimes.
“Hate crimes bills are unwanted because they create protected classes that divide Hoosiers into separate and conflicting groups and thereby promote tribalism rather than unity. As Abraham Lincoln famously said, ‘A house divided cannot stand’
“These bills are unconscionable because they show contempt for the moral and religious views of millions of Hoosiers by including “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as protected categories. Such bills suggest that disapproval alone — even when expressed lovingly and peacefully — constitute hate or a hate crime. This is an insult to many compassionate people who object to such conduct based on religious and moral grounds thousands of years old as well as science-based concerns about the often serious medical and psychological risks of such behavior.
“For these reasons we oppose all hate/bias/thought crimes bills and do not seek any compromise legislation.”
Yours truly,
Al Parsons, chairman, Coalition of Central Indiana Tea Parties; Monica Boyer, president, Indiana Liberty Coalition; Sue Lile, secretary/treasurer, Coalition of Central Indiana Tea Parties; Robert Hall, leader, Indiana Conservative Alliance; Ron Johnson, Indiana Pastors Alliance; Micah Clark, executive director, American Family Association of Indiana; Rick Barr, Indy Defenders of Liberty; Michael Morris, legislative chair, Coalition of Indiana Tea Parties; Jim Bratten, Hoosier Patriots (submitted by Hall)
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