Washington, DC, April 2, 2015 — Today the National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund is launching a new campaign called “Nix It Now” (#NixItNow) urging politicians to reject Indiana-style discrimination laws. Go to the organization’s facebook page to share a “Nix it Now” graphic.
The new campaign begins on the day when Indiana legislators announced a “fix” for their controversial discrimination law SB101. The “fix” aims to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination based on religious belief. However, Indiana does not have a comprehensive nondiscrimination law — so LGBTQ people could still be fired for who they are and who they love.
“The fix that has been announced today by Indiana lawmakers is a step in the right direction. But the best way to fix this type of law is not to pass it in the first place. That’s why we are launching our ‘Nix it Now’ campaign,” said Russell Roybal, deputy executive director, National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund. “Indiana’s law—that they are now trying to fix because of public outrage — is among the most anti-LGBTQ laws in the country. It is so broad that almost any type of discrimination — LGBTQ people at work; women who want their birth control prescriptions filled; men who want to have their prescriptions for PrEP filled; immigrants who need housing—could be impacted. Despite Governor Pence’s assertions, this law is not about protecting or strengthening true religious liberty; it’s about politicians forcing their beliefs by law on other people. That’s not liberty; it’s persecution. That’s not faith; that’s discrimination. Today it’s LGBTQ people in Indiana. Tomorrow it could be you wherever you live. It has to stop.”
The new campaign comes at a time when there are attempts in states such as Arkansas, North Carolina, Texas and Georgia to include “RFRAs” or “religious exemptions” or “religious refusals” in new and existing laws. These laws are intended to deny or strip away critical non-discrimination protections and weaken the clearly intended definition of our constitutional right of religious liberty.
“Politicians across the nation have a critical choice to make: do the right thing by rejecting Indiana-style discrimination laws or do the wrong thing by supporting these laws and thereby transforming their states into no-go areas for LGBTQ people and our allies. The self-motivated politicians who peddle these laws in the short-run become the opponents of freedom in the long-run. We urge all politicians to nix discrimination now by rejecting discriminatory laws and passing strong non-discrimination laws,” said Roybal.
More details of the “Nix it Now” campaign will be announced in the coming days.
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CONTACT:
Jorge Amaro
Media and Public Relations Director
213-842-7564
jamaro@thetaskforce.org