INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Democratic Party, the organization that advocates for the future of Indiana and its families, today provided this wrap up to the first week of the 2022 Culture War Session at the statehouse – one that divides communities and does little to create a better future for Hoosier families. As we said at the start of this week, Indiana Republicans’ agenda this session will be about fulfilling a partisan wish list rooted in misinformation and cooked up by the national Republican Party, nothing else.
“Indiana Republicans proved this week they view the 2022 session as their opportunity to pursue unnecessary and divisive culture wars no matter the issue – and it will diminish Hoosiers’ future,” said Lauren Ganapini, executive director of the Indiana Democratic Party. “After villainizing Hoosiers for collecting unemployment checks last year, Republicans now want to reward folks who abide by their effort to discredit the COVID-19 vaccine with the same cash. The INGOP proves each day that every Issue – including economic freedom and security – is a partisan issue for them, and this irrational behavior is why they look more like hypocrites than leaders.”
Here are the Week One highlights of the INGOP’s Culture War session:
With House Bill 1001, INGOP Continues Effort to Discredit COVID-19 Vaccine
“The 7-4 vote was largely along party lines, with all but one Republican on the panel supporting the measure. The bill now moves to the full House for debate. […]
“Various business groups have opposed the bill, as well as doctors…
The House Employment, Labor and Pensions Committee on Thursday amended the bill before voting it out. The amendment included a provision that says if someone is fired for refusing a vaccine they are entitled to unemployment compensation.” – Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
Indiana State Police, law enforcement oppose House Bill 1077 – aka “Constitutional Carry”
“…critics argue the bill will only increase gun violence issues in a city that already has record homicide numbers.
‘We have a system in place right now, where in last two years, it has located 10,000 rejections, and most of those, the highest reason for those rejections, was a felon applying for permit,’ Major Rob Simpson of the Indiana State Police explained in opposition. ‘In addition to that, there are 2,000 suspended or revoked licenses of individuals who have committed a crime. One of the concerns we have is individuals will not be able to know these in the future. There is not a prohibitor database.’” – Fox59
Hearing on Senate Bill 167 Prove Critical Race Theory National GOP Strategy
“[Senate Bill 167] instructs that schools can’t teach “that any individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, responsibility, or any other form of psychological distress” on account of what Baldwin called “the eight specific divisive concepts” outlined in the bill text.” – Indiana Public Media
“An Oklahoma law enacted last year, which has served as the template for other states, bans teaching that anyone is “inherently racist, sexist or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously,” or that they should feel “discomfort, guilt, anguish or any other form of psychological distress” because of their race or sex” – POLITICO
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