INDIANA: Fired Clerk Cites Leviticus In Federal Lawsuit Over Same-Sex Marriage

Former Harrison County, Indiana employee Linda Summers has filed a federal employment discrimination lawsuit against her former boss and the county, alleging religious discrimination after being terminated last year for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses. Summers logically cites Leviticus as proof of her having been wronged:

Plaintiff, Linda Summers has a sincerely held religious belief, based upon the tenants of her faith and biblical teaching, such as Leviticus 18:22; Romans 1:26-27, I Cor. 6:9-10; and I Tim 1:9-10, that it is a sin for persons of the same sex to engage in sexual relations and, based upon Genesis 2:18-25, and other biblical authority, that persons of the same sex cannot and should not be morally or legally recognized as husband and wife, and that God will judge individual Christians, as well as the society of which they are a part, who condone or institute same sex marriages.

Bolding is mine. Summers goes on to cite the Civil Rights Act of 1964. She is represented by a local firm. (Via World Net Daily)

Celebration In Indianapolis

INDIANA: South Bend Mayor Comes Out

"I was well into adulthood before I was prepared to acknowledge the simple fact that I am gay. It took years of struggle and growth for me to recognize that it’s just a fact of life, like having brown hair, and part of who I am. Putting something this personal on the pages of a newspaper does not come easy. We Midwesterners are instinctively private to begin with, and I’m not used to viewing this as anyone else’s business. But it’s clear to me that at a moment like this, being more open about it could do some good. For a local student struggling with her sexuality, it might be helpful for an openly gay mayor to send the message that her community will always have a place for her. And for a conservative resident from a different generation, whose unease with social change is partly rooted in the impression that he doesn’t know anyone gay, perhaps a familiar face can be a reminder that we’re all in this together as a community."- Mayor Pete Buttigieg, writing today for the South Bend Tribune.

RELATED: Buttigieg was first elected in 2012 at the age of 30, making him the youngest US mayor of a city with a population over 100,000. In 2014 he left office for seven months to serve in Afghanistan with the US Navy Reserves. (Tipped by JMG reader Peter)

INDIANA: GOP Indianapolis Mayor Serves As Grand Marshal For Pride Parade

At the height of Indiana's ugly RFRA battle, it was GOP Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard who stepped forward as the bill's most prominent opponent. Yesterday he served as grand marshal of Indy Pride.

Lambda Legal: Michigan & North Carolina Laws Are Worse Than Indiana's RFRA

Via press release from Lambda Legal:

Today was a discouraging day for equality and justice. Michigan today enacted a law that allows state-funded adoption and foster care agencies to turn people away on religious grounds, and North Carolina enacted a law allowing government magistrates to refuse to perform civil marriage ceremonies for couples whose union they object to on religious grounds. For anyone with delusions that the work for LGBT rights is close to being done, think again. These laws will be used to deny loving homes to Michigan children in need and to subject same-sex couples to the indignity of being turned away by government-funded agencies in Michigan and by government officials in North Carolina. That that discrimination is based on religion is no excuse. Discrimination inspired by religious views is still discrimination. These measures are in some ways worse than what happened in Indiana because Michigan and North Carolina will be using tax dollars to support such discrimination. Good public policy helps people--it shouldn't hurt them. We expect Lambda Legal's Help Desk will light up with calls from those who suffer discrimination imposed by these laws, and we stand ready to help.

Their help desk is here.

"This Is White Trash At Its Finest"

President Obama Cracks Gay Jokes At White House Correspondents' Dinner

Starnes is probably referring to this line: "I tease Joe sometimes, but he has been at my side for seven years, I love that man. He's not just a great vice president, he is a great friend. We've gotten so close in some places in Indiana, they won't serve us pizza anymore." Or maybe this one: "Rick Santorum announced that he would not attend the same-sex wedding of a friend or a loved one, to which gays and lesbians across the country responded, 'That's not gonna be a problem.'" The president's full speech is below.

INDIANA: School Fires Coach Over Threat To Burn Down Anti-Gay Pizza Parlor

Via the Indianapolis Fox affiliate:

A northern Indiana school district says it has fired a coach who tweeted about burning down a pizza shop after its owners said they wouldn’t cater a gay wedding because of their religious beliefs. Concord Community Schools Superintendent Wayne Stubbs confirmed to The Goshen News that Jessica Dooley was terminated on Monday. Dooley had been suspended since April 1 after she suggested burning down Memories Pizza in Walkerton over the owners’ support for a new religious objects law that critics called anti-gay. Fallout over the law sparked boycotts of Indiana and led lawmakers to revise its language to address concerns that it could be used as a legal defense for discrimination.

Local prosecutors are considering criminal charges.

INDIANA: Angie's List Head Resigns, Might Launch Challenge Against Gov. Pence

Via the Indianapolis Star:

Bill Oesterle is quitting as CEO of Angie's List, saying he wants to re-enter state politics and help repair the "shellacking" Indiana's image took from the passage of the "religious freedom" act. The news caught both the state's business and political communities by surprise, and some see the move as a direct effort to unseat Gov. Mike Pence over his handling of the controversial issue. Oesterle, 49, co-founded the online consumer review company 20 years ago and has been its only chief executive. He hasn't been involved in state politics since he managed two-term Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels' first election campaign in 2004. Oesterle's announcement amounts to "an announcement of trying to unseat a governor," said Andy Downs, director of the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics. "If you think about the individual positions that could have made a difference about this (RFRA), that's only one, that's the governor." "That is somebody who is saying either he is running for governor or is looking for somebody to run for governor," Downs said of Oesterle.

RELATED: NOM's month-old Angie's List boycott petition has stalled out at a whopping 4900 names.

Breitbart Publishes Unsourced Claim Of Assault Over Indiana's RFRA Law

Citing an anonymous email, Breitbart columnist and hate group leader Austin Ruse is claiming that a gay housekeeper "assaulted" his 76 year-old employer because he was furious about Indiana's RFRA law. From the email, which was allegedly written by the woman's son:

John (not his real name) came to our home as usual to help clean the house. He comes every 2 weeks. My mother greeted him and was met with cursing, aggressiveness, and fury. John was very angry about the [Religious Freedom Restoration Action] just signed by Governor Pence. John yelled f-bombs and called my elderly mother a bigot and accused her and all “religious” people of discrimination. She called me after 15 minutes of his tirade and she was reduced to tears and horribly scared by him. I could hear him yelling obscenities in the background at her. John would not get on the phone and I told my mom to ask him to leave or I would call 911. He left. I raced home to find my mom still shaking. She suffers from heart disease, cancer, and can barely see. She is completely vulnerable.

Contrary to Ruse's headline, the email does not accuse "John" of actual physical assault and there's nothing about gay marriage in the email either. Hundreds of Breitbart commenters are reacting to Ruse's story as you'd expect, with only a few questioning its anonymous and unsourced nature. 

PREVIOUSLY ON JMG: Austin Ruse was fired by the American Family Association last year after a guest-hosting spot on their radio network during which he declared that liberal university officials "should all be taken out and shot." Ruse also claims that a Vatican priest once offered him absolution if he were to murder Hillary Clinton. Ruse is the head of C-FAM, the Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute, which is a member of the World Congress of Families, the coalition working with NOM and others to export anti-gay hatred to foreign counties. During a speech at CPAC 2012, Ruse denounced the United Nations for issuing a resolution against the gay death penalty.

INDIANA: Republicans Refuse To Consider LGBT Anti-Discrimination Bill

Via the Associated Press:

Republicans in the Indiana House have turned aside an attempt to extend protections for LGBT residents under the state’s non-discrimination laws in response to the uproar over the new religious objections law. The proposal called for adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the Indiana civil rights law covering education, employment and housing. Republican leaders say there isn’t enough time left in the legislative session to tackle such a policy change, and GOP members backed a ruling Tuesday that the proposal didn’t meet House rules for consideration. Senate Republicans on Tuesday also rejected a proposal to create a special committee to study the non-discrimination issue.

RELATED: The state of Indiana has hired a PR firm to repair its damaged image.

The state will spend the coming days building a public relations strategy with the firm and stakeholders across the state and plans to spend $2 million with Porter Novelli, plus however much more is needed in actual advertising buys. "The recent controversy has advanced the thinking of just a lot of people, that you can't take for granted that people know what Indiana is," said Chris Cotterill, general counsel for the Indiana Economic Development Corp. The state took a major public relations hit at the start of the month with the swirl of negative attention surrounding Gov. Mike Pence's signing of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. There is little doubt that Indiana's national image took a hit, but nobody has been able to quantify exactly how much damage was done.

AFA: Boycotts Are Economic Terrorism

As we all know, the American Family Association is the most boycott-crazy of all anti-gay groups, having launched or supported boycotts against Ford, Macy's, Home Depot, Disney, Honey Maid, General Mills, Starbucks, and many others. Just last week they launched their boycott of Angie's List and of course their One Million Moms arm has boycotted or threatened to boycott dozens of companies in just the last couple of years. But listen to AFA radio crackpot Sandy Rios agree with a listener who calls boycotts "economic terrorism."

INDIANA: Pizza Parlor Will Give Some Of Windfall To Florist In Washington State

Via the Daily Mail:

In an exclusive first interview inside Memories Pizza restaurant since it closed down last week, owner Kevin O’Connor and daughter Crystal emerged from hiding and told Daily Mail Online they had been heartened by the support of 29,000 people who donated and many more who wrote to them. They revealed they are set to share their new fortune with disabled children, a women’s help group, fire fighters, police trusts, Christian churches and Washington florist Barronelle Stutzman, 70, who was fined after declaring she would not serve a gay wedding.

The O’Connors are being advised by financial guru Ed Butowsky, an expert in the investment wealth management industry. He said: "Mr O’Connor and Crystal are genuine people. He is devastated that he has given Walkerton a bad name and people around the US might view it as a gay hating town. It is not that. But the O'Connors believe what they believe and that is their right. They want to share the money they have received and we are discussing how best that should happen. Nothing has been decided 100 per cent, but some charities will receive money as will Barronelle Stutzman who they wish to support."

INDIANA: Hate Group Leader Leaves Law Firm Job Over Support For RFRA Law

Indiana Family Institute head Curt Smith, seen above at the signing of the first version of his state's RFRA bill, has left his day job with a law firm over the battle. Via the Indianapolis CW affiliate:

Until last week Smith was the director of public policy at the Taft Law firm. One of its biggest clients is Cummins, the Columbus based engine manufacturer that was a leading opponent of the religious freedom law. Something had to give. As recently as Monday morning his Linkedin page showed him working at Taft Law. But an email sent to his law firm address came back with a message saying that he left Taft to join the Family Institute as President, even though his bio at the Family Institute website points out that he has actually held that position for 11 years. A spokesman for the law firm said that the purpose of the Family Institute didn’t match the purpose of the law firm but that it was Smith’s decision to leave. The Taft law firm, according the spokesman, has a principle of inclusiveness, and the when the Religious Freedom law was perceived to allow discrimination against gays and lesbians, that apparently posed an additional problem.

The Family Research Council, of course, is claiming that Smith was hounded out of his job.

It is a sad day for Indiana and for American law when a man as principled and talented as Curt Smith is de facto forced to leave his role with his employer because he believes that coercion and repression are not Hoosier values. The moral cowardice of the leadership of Taft and its clients (including Cummins, about whose generous federal contracts I wrote myriad news releases when working for Sen. Coats) is repulsive. Curt Smith has the assurance of a loving God and the respect of many friends. What do Taft, Cummins, and their compeers have? Gaining the world at the cost of one’s soul is, according to Jesus, a bad bargain. They might consider that a bit.

Smith is an advocate for "ex-gay" torture and has compared gays to people who have sex with animals.

Tony Perkins Blames Obama For Murders Of Christians In Foreign Countries

In a Fox News appearance about the president's remarks yesterday about "less than loving Christians," KKK-affiliated hate group leader Tony Perkins blamed Obama for the murders of Christians by Islamist terrorists in foreign countries.

"I think there's a reason the president doesn't want to talk about this persecution of Christians, because in part his policies are responsible. The growing hostility toward Christianity here at home is fostering an environment where tyrants and terrorists feel free to kill Christians for their faith. I am saying that his policies are fostering an environment in which tyrants and terrorists feel that America no longer places a high priority on religious freedom and the protection of the oppressed. And in that shadow that he has cast with these policies, we see more and more Christians being persecuted, their lives taken from them, in faraway places. You cannot escape the fact that what America does has consequences elsewhere."

Freedom From Religion Foundation Runs Full-Page Anti-RFRA Message In NYT

The above message ran in Sunday's New York Times.

Launched: Indiana Youth Group GoFundMe

The GoFundMe donation drive for Memories Pizza closed at $846K and donation drive for Washington state florist Barronelle Stutzman stands at $95K. But the good guys have responded with donation drives for Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Fund, which at this writing stands at $38K, and for the Indiana Youth Group, which stands at nearly $23K.

INDIANA: Rihanna Slams RFRA Battle To NCAA Concert Crowd, "Fuck That Shit"

Pop superstar Rihanna performed at the NCAA March Madness Music Fest in Indianapolis this weekend where she denounced the RFRA battle. Via Yahoo Music:

Rihanna also used her headlining performance to slam Indiana’s controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). Although the bill was amended to make it less discriminatory toward the LGBT community, Rihanna still unloaded on the RFRA in an expletive-laden tirade prior to performing “Live Your Life.” "Who’s feeling these new bullshit laws that they’re trying to pass over here? I say fuck that shit," Rihanna told the crowd, inciting chants of "Fuck that shit." "We’re just living our motherfucking lives. Indiana!" Although Rihanna’s March Madness performance was live-streamed, her Indiana comments were heavily censored upon broadcast.

Also slamming RFRA at the concert was Bleachers frontman Jack Antonoff, who wore a "Protect LGBT Hoosiers" t-shirt and called for donations to Freedom Indiana. Bleachers is a spin-off project of Antonoff's band Fun, which took the Grammy for Best New Artist in 2013. Fun also won the 2013 Grammy for Song Of The Year with We Are Young.

Perkins: Christians In Foreign Nations "Will Suffer" Over America's RFRA Battles

"As we allow this religious intolerance to spread here at home, persecution will spread abroad. We have to stand and defend this faith because Christians abroad will suffer if we don't."

INDIANA: Gay-Inclusive Christian Choir Performs Outside Of Memories Pizza