[G]ov. Peter Shumlin has prohibited state agencies from sending employees to Indiana in light of a recent law that he said sends the wrong message to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
Shumlin also invited the organizers of conferences originally scheduled for Indiana to move those meetings to Vermont in recognition of the state’s “long, proud tradition of supporting equal rights.”
A new Indiana law, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, would permit discrimination against gays and lesbians, critics say.
Shumlin released a statement Tuesday saying he had contacted the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO, to applaud its decision to relocate an October conference scheduled for Indianapolis. AFSCME canceled the conference in response to the Indiana law, which prohibits local and state governments from placing a “substantial burden” on a person’s exercise of religion and gives legal and financial recourse to those who are substantially burdened. The law has been criticized as an open door for businesses to discriminate against LGBTQ persons.
According to news reports Tuesday, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence is now asking state lawmakers there to clarify that the law does not permit discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Shumlin released a copy of his letter to AFSCME President Lee Saunders, inviting Saunders to move the 2015 Women’s Conference to Vermont. Shumlin said the Indiana law sends a bad message to the LGBTQ community.
“Vermont was the first state to outlaw slavery and the first state to legislate marriage equality,” the letter said. “In that tradition, we would be proud to work with you to determine if Vermont has facilities to accommodate your conference, and if so, relocate it to the Green Mountains.”
AFSCME is just one of several institutions that no longer plan to do business in Indiana. A spokesperson at the AFSCME headquarters in Washington, D.C., had not received the governor’s letter.
Several technology companies have pulled out of the Indy Big Data conference May 7 in Indianapolis, according to their Twitter accounts. Leaders for the Gen Con video gaming convention July 30 condemned the law and asked members to contact their state legislators.
In Vermont, an email sent on behalf of Secretary of Administration Justin Johnson instructed agencies and departments not to send employees to Indiana on state-funded or state-sponsored trips “immediately until further notice.”
Shumlin’s spokesperson, Scott Coriell, said the actions send a message that “discrimination is not OK.”
Shumlin is scheduled to meet with the youth group Outright Vermont on Friday.
