Indiana and its businesses have been trying to not so much rebrand as un-brand their way out of SB 101, the so-called Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which should also be called
“The Bill to Create A Problem We Didn’t Have Before.”
What they’ve been doing, just as the NCAA Final Four is happening in Indy, is re-branding the act
along the lines of “No, no, we didn't actually mean it that way!” That’s because the governor of the state, Mike Pence, hasn’t got much of a choice. And, boy, I’ll
bet he wishes he did. Now that it’s about cash money, I’ll bet he wishes he’d slept through the signing day.
In any case, economic threats are implied by
statements of censure from Apple; Salesforce, which acquired Indianapolis-based ExactTarget in 2013; Indiana-based Eli Lilly; the major sports franchises; several states, and lots of other entities with deep pockets.
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Who says sanctions don't work? Economic threats have pretty much forced the governor’s hand. He and everyone else touching the legislation can now put their heads squarely between
their knees and very awkwardly kiss their collective butts goodbye. Because no matter what they do at this point, they’ve made Indiana a laughing stock.
They’re
screwed any way you look at it. Trying to wiggle out now by adding a “this act doesn’t really mean what we intended it to mean” rider of some kind makes it obvious that they wish the
whole thing would just go away. If it does go away, it won’t be because of anything they — the lawmakers — do at this point. It will probably take campaigning, whether institutional or grass roots. And, sorry to say this, but the issue is over when
the money, not Indiana, says it is.
Yes,
Indianapolis has been forced to do a workaround, making the point that the city actually does, in fact, welcome everyone. On its visitors site, VisitIndy.com, there's now the prominent “Indy
Welcomes All” splash page and a guide to LGBT lifestyle and tourism. And this statement:
“Indy is built on its people, who are warm, welcoming, and inclusive of all. The
ethos of Indy, ‘Hoosier Hospitality,’ remains.” Then it goes on to say that the “Amended RFRA state bill ensures everyone is welcome to visit Indy.” Actually the right
amendment to RFRA would be to never have passed it. Or amend it out of existence, but that would probably also amend Gov. Pence, a "conversion therapy" type, out of his job. So he's caught between a
rock and a hard place, hopefully, and for the sake of his self-respect, with some shred of righteous indignation still intact.
By the way, Houston, the biggest city in a state
that isn't known to be a bastion of progressive ideology, is launching a first-ever ad campaign directed to the LGBT community. It touts the city as a multi-faceted, multi-cultural hotspot. The city
has some LGBT credibility. Houston’s mayor, Annise Parker, married her partner in January last year. Evidently this is the fifth anniversary of MyGayHouston.com, purported to get some 25,000
monthly visitors. The campaign features video following real residents in their daily and nightly lives in the
city.
Philadelphia is another city that has been marketing pretty consistently to the LGBT community. It has a Gay-Friendly section of its official visitors site, and puts a
lot of focus on the Philly "Gayborhood" downtown. There's also a Navigaytour travel guide on the site. Miami has a dedicated LGBT visitor site, GoGayMiami. And a lot of other cities have
LGBT-dedicated tourism sites and programs.
Whether Indiana can navigate its way out of the situation it (maybe) wishes it hadn't put itself in in the first place is an open
question. My guess is, with enough phone calls, apologies, campaigns, and promises, it will keep the conventions, business and visitors. It’s reputation? That’s another thing.