Judge denies challenge to Indiana religious objection limits

By TOM DAVIES
November 27, 2019

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indiana judge has canceled a trial challenging limits on the state’s religious objections law, finding conservative groups failed to prove they were harmed by changes the Republican-dominated Legislature approved shortly after then-Gov. Mike Pence signed it.

In calling off the trial that was scheduled for February, Hamilton County Judge Michael Casati agreed with arguments the state and four cities made that the groups lacked standing to sue.

Their lawsuit challenged changes to a 2015 law prohibiting any government actions that “substantially burden” a person’s ability to follow his or her religious beliefs. The definition of “person” includes religious institutions, businesses and associations.

Pence, a Republican who is now vice president, signed the bill amid national uproar that it could be used to discriminate against gays and lesbians. But days later, legislators made revisions blocking its use as a legal defense for refusing to provide services, goods, facilities or accommodations on the basis of race, religion, gender, military service or sexual orientation.

The Indiana Family Institute, Indiana Family Action and the American Family Association of Indiana had argued the changes threatened to hinder their ability to speak out against same-sex marriages and expose them to claims of discrimination in hiring. Casati ruling, filed Friday, didn’t elaborate on how he reached the decision that they didn’t show how they were harmed by the changes.

Their lawsuit also challenged local civil rights ordinances that include protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity in Indianapolis, Carmel, Bloomington and Columbus, which is Pence’s hometown.

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