Indiana Religious Freedom Bill
Phoenix Pickett
Who, What, When, Where, and Why?
This is a bill that Indiana's governor Mike Pence signed into effect on April 2, 2015 (USA Today). Its a bill that would allow businesses to refuse services to those that go against their religious beliefs or morals (INDY Star). This happened in Indiana. This started because small businesses feel they shouldn't have to serve those they feel violate their religion.
Media Perspective
One side of the debate is that this is a good thing. That small businesses should be allowed to pick and choose who they want to serve. They feel that since they own and run the store they shouldn't have to serve those they don't agree with (TIME). They want to be the boss of their own stores, restaurants, or companies and be able to choose who they serve to and able able to establish their store as a Christian or Muslim or LBGT+ friendly company.
Media Perspective
Another side to the argument is that this is just legal discrimination. To say they can deny service based on their religion, allows more than just whats in their religion. They can deny anyone and say its due to religion even if it's based on something else like race, other religions, or even gender. They will be able to say anything is the reason so long as they can tie it back to religion. People all over Indiana disagree with this bill and yet Mike Pence still signed and passed it into a law.
Media Bias
I personally believe that businesses should not be allowed to turn down others based upon their sexual orientation, religion, or gender. I think that by allowing this, its opening up a big to do that can cause stores like Target and Wal-Mart to discriminate in states like Indiana with bills similar to this one. I think stores should just sell the products and services to anyone because to turn away those people is to turn away customers and they will lose money anyways.
Criticism (Cultural)
Cultural criticism works here because this is based on the fact that this whole bill is based on one culture not wanting to have to serve or sell to another. They want to allow Christians to not have to serve to the LBGT+ community or vice versa. They want to exclude them from their services and deny them their products.
Criticism (Historical)
Historical criticism works here because they are going back to a time period where you could pick and choose who came to your stores. Back when blacks were told they could and could not shop these places. Its going back to a time where people were discriminated against and all this is, is legal discrimination again. I feel that with this bill, it will take us back to a time where stores discriminated against their customers and picked and chose which ones they wanted to serve.
Indiana Religious Freedom Bill
Works Cited
http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/locals-react-to-indianas-religious-freedom-bill-as-it-heads-to-governors-desk/31990372 (picture #1)
http://time.com/3816667/indiana-religious-freedom-law-pizza-shop/
http://www.businessinsider.com/how-indiana-is-changing-its-religious-freedom-law-2015-4 (picture #3)
http://blogs.denverpost.com/opinion-cartoons/2015/04/01/cartoons-of-the-day-indiana-religious-freedom-law/44450/ (Picture #2)