An anti-LGBT organization has created a video suggesting that a “sneak attack” is being masterminded in Indiana’s statehouse.
In the video, Advance America executive director Eric Miller warns that “the children of Indiana are in danger” because of proposed legislation that would offer non-discrimination protections to LGBT Hoosiers:
“The children of Indiana are in danger. A sneak attack could take place on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at the Statehouse to pass a bill that will harm the families and the children of Indiana — your children and your grandchildren. According to reliable sources, this sneak attack is being orchestrated by key political leaders and powerful special interest groups and corporations that have millions of dollars to spend to control the legislative process.”
Miller vaguely adds that the “sneak attack” has to do with “sexual activity and children” but refuses to name check his anti-gay bigotry.
The video appears to target leaders of the Republican-controlled General Assembly, where gay rights issues have put them in the middle of a rift between two traditional bases of support for the GOP — Downtown business interests and religious conservatives.
“Let me be perfectly clear,” House Speaker Brian Bosma of Indianapolis said Thursday morning on Twitter. “There is no ‘sneak attack’ planned for organization day. A simple phone call would have clarified that.”
The legislation that has been publicly known about for some time (in other words, it’s the opposite of a sneak attack) seeks to repair some of the damage done by Indiana’s anti-gay ‘religious freedom’ bill and create a “Utah compromise” on nondiscrimination protections for the LGBT community:
Gov. Mike Pence, lawmakers, gay rights groups, and some of Indiana’s largest employers have been discussing a possible change to Indiana law that would add civil rights protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
The issue has been front-and-center since Pence signed Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act in March, setting off protests, boycott threats and travel bans from those who feared the measure would allow businesses to turn down services to gays. Within a week, the governor and lawmakers approved a so-called “fix” intended to prevent the law from being used to discriminate.
The change to the law infuriated some social conservatives, who said it could allow Christian business owners to be fined if they refused to provide services to a customer for religious reasons.
In case there’s any doubt as to whether Advance America and Eric Miller are anti-gay, one need only turn to the group’s website which declares, “Homosexuality Is Wrong! Homosexual Marriages Are Wrong!”
Watch the ad on the “sneak attack”, below:
Say sneak attack one more time.
Then watch a news report on the hullabaloo surrounding the video, below:
