Alright, so with the Indiana religious freedom bill that recently passed, dozens of organizations have publicly declared a boycott of the state until the bill is overturned. This thread isn't to discuss the value of such bills, but the value of these boycotts. In my opinion, all this does is hurt the citizens of the state, compounding the same problem they're protesting.

Some big-hitters included in the Boycott:

Connecticut: Governor Dannel Malloy has indicated he will sign an executive order limiting state-funded travel to Indiana as a result of the bill.

Seattle: Mayor Ed Murray, who is gay, has slammed the bill as discriminatory and is banning all city-funded travel to the state.

Disciples of Christ: The Indianapolis-based church has threatened to move its annual convention out of the the state in protest of the legislation. "As a Christian church, we are particularly sensitive to the values of the One we follow," said Disciple of Christ President Sharon Watkins, "one who sat at table with people from all walks of life, and loved them all.”

Yelp: In a blog post, Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman wrote, "I hope that in the future the legislatures in the nineteen states that have these laws on the books will reconsider their actions. In the mean time, Yelp will make every effort to expand its corporate presence only in states that do not have these laws allowing for discrimination on the books."

Wilco: On Monday, the Chicago-based indie band said it would cancel its upcoming show in Indianapolis in protest of the RFRA

George Takei: The Star Trek actor, LGBT activist, and social media superstar called for a boycott of the state and accused Gov. Pence of pandering to a right-wing, Christian base that fundamentally misunderstands its own religious traditions. "I myself am a Buddhist, not a Christian. But I cannot help but think that if Christ ran a public establishment, it would be open to all," Takei noted. "He would be the last to refuse service to anyone. It is, simply put, the most un-Christian of notions."

Ironically enough, most of the more outspoken sources are also under the false assumption that the bill lets businesses discriminate against customers, including George Takei, who is notorious for parroting sensationalist headlines without researching the subject.

I can't really see how this does anything useful. Before this even began, the legislature had begun rewriting the bill to clarify its inability to justify discrimination.

It's sort of like how Thatcher didn't want to impose sanctions on Apartheid South Africa since it would disproportionately harm blacks the most. Boycotting the state isn't going to help anybody.

If they actually want to do anything, they should be calling for boycotts of the businesses who use their freedoms in bigoted ways. But like most slacktivists they're probably too lazy to think that much into it.

Quote from: Mad Max on March 31, 2015, 07:12:20 PM

Is there an ELI5 for this whole bill? I'd rather not read through the whole thing.

It's like 3 pages long.

Ah, I didn't realize. I assumed it was like, 50...because government. I should just go read it in its plain text.

I'll admit I've fallen victim to trying to discuss this without having read it, so I'm going to try to refrain from doing so until I understand the contents of the bill.

Ok, I think I made my way through it. Before I pick at any sections of it, what was happening in Indiana that provoked this bill to be written? Were the people of Indiana's freedom of religious expression and services being infringed upon?

They're following suit with many other states taking the federal RFRA law and applying it at a state level. I don't think it's in response to a particular set of incidents, though the ACA is largely what spurned the trend.

Quote from: HurtfulTurkey on March 31, 2015, 07:40:14 PM

Quote from: Mad Max on March 31, 2015, 07:29:56 PM

Ok, I think I made my way through it. Before I pick at any sections of it, what was happening in Indiana that provoked this bill to be written? Were the people of Indiana's freedom of religious expression and services being infringed upon?

They're following suit with many other states taking the federal RFRA law and applying it at a state level. I don't think it's in response to a particular set of incidents, though the ACA is largely what spurned the trend.

How could healthcare possibly infringe upon someone's religious freedom?

Contraception and abortion, I imagine.

Quote from: Mad Max on March 31, 2015, 07:54:03 PM

Quote from: HurtfulTurkey on March 31, 2015, 07:40:14 PM

Quote from: Mad Max on March 31, 2015, 07:29:56 PM

Ok, I think I made my way through it. Before I pick at any sections of it, what was happening in Indiana that provoked this bill to be written? Were the people of Indiana's freedom of religious expression and services being infringed upon?

They're following suit with many other states taking the federal RFRA law and applying it at a state level. I don't think it's in response to a particular set of incidents, though the ACA is largely what spurned the trend.

How could healthcare possibly infringe upon someone's religious freedom?

Contraceptives, probably.

Quote from: Mad Max on March 31, 2015, 07:54:03 PM

Quote from: HurtfulTurkey on March 31, 2015, 07:40:14 PM

Quote from: Mad Max on March 31, 2015, 07:29:56 PM

Ok, I think I made my way through it. Before I pick at any sections of it, what was happening in Indiana that provoked this bill to be written? Were the people of Indiana's freedom of religious expression and services being infringed upon?

They're following suit with many other states taking the federal RFRA law and applying it at a state level. I don't think it's in response to a particular set of incidents, though the ACA is largely what spurned the trend.

How could healthcare possibly infringe upon someone's religious freedom?

Contraception and abortion, I imagine.

The ACA forces people to take contraceptives and have abortions?

Quote from: Mad Max on March 31, 2015, 08:02:17 PM

Quote from: DAS | Loli Soul on March 31, 2015, 07:58:36 PM

Quote from: Mad Max on March 31, 2015, 07:54:03 PM

Quote from: HurtfulTurkey on March 31, 2015, 07:40:14 PM

Quote from: Mad Max on March 31, 2015, 07:29:56 PM

Ok, I think I made my way through it. Before I pick at any sections of it, what was happening in Indiana that provoked this bill to be written? Were the people of Indiana's freedom of religious expression and services being infringed upon?

They're following suit with many other states taking the federal RFRA law and applying it at a state level. I don't think it's in response to a particular set of incidents, though the ACA is largely what spurned the trend.

How could healthcare possibly infringe upon someone's religious freedom?

Contraceptives, probably.

Quote from: HurtfulTurkey on March 31, 2015, 08:00:50 PM

Quote from: Mad Max on March 31, 2015, 07:54:03 PM

Quote from: HurtfulTurkey on March 31, 2015, 07:40:14 PM

Quote from: Mad Max on March 31, 2015, 07:29:56 PM

Ok, I think I made my way through it. Before I pick at any sections of it, what was happening in Indiana that provoked this bill to be written? Were the people of Indiana's freedom of religious expression and services being infringed upon?

They're following suit with many other states taking the federal RFRA law and applying it at a state level. I don't think it's in response to a particular set of incidents, though the ACA is largely what spurned the trend.

How could healthcare possibly infringe upon someone's religious freedom?

Contraception and abortion, I imagine.

The ACA forces people to take contraceptives and have abortions?

Wasn't there some huge debacle about forcing business to provide contraceptives in their heath insurance or something...
I forget how that court case turned out.

Yeah, the Hobby Lobby shit.

But I never saw the connection. The business owner isn't the one handling the contraceptives.

For reference, this is the text I read

http://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2015/03/27/text-indianas-religious-freedom-law/70539772/

I just want to point out that this thread was supposed to be about opinions regarding the boycotting of states because of bills they passed. I think the current topic has been beaten to death on Serious in the past.

I just want to point out that this thread was supposed to be about opinions regarding the boycotting of states because of bills they passed. I think the current topic has been beaten to death on Serious in the past.

My bad. I just wanted to establish a solid foundation from which to discuss the topic.

On topic:
I fully support and encourage businesses and people to avoid doing business in a state that has passed legislation they do no support. While that may be difficult depending on the goods/services you need or provide, I understand people who do not boycott a state because of its legislation.

There's also people who will move their business to places like Indiana to show their support for such legislation.

I also understand that some people just don't give a fuck and will do business wherever they want regardless of the legislation passed.

Sounds like folks got caught up in their moral indignation and didn't stop to think of widespread effects. . .same shit-yadda yadda yadda