[nfb-talk] Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act

[John Heim]

The NFB should issue a statement condemning Indiana's religious freedom 
act.

I've been discriminated against in my life. I once was  turned down for 
a job because the person who did the interview literally would not 
believe that a blind person could use a computer. I'd been working as a 
programmer and systems administrator for 15 years at that point. Another 
time, I actually diagnosed a network problem during the job interview. I 
plugged my laptop into the network, ran some diagnostics, and explained 
what the problem was right there during the interview. But I didn't get 
that job either because they said part of the job was drawing images for 
their web site. Admittedly, It's debatable whether that second example 
is discrimination. In fact, I personally would not call it 
discrimination but people I've mentioned it to have felt otherwise. The 
point is that I know what it's like being turned down for a job because 
of something you can't control.  I know what it's like when that happens 
to you when you're worried about having health insurance for your family 
and making the house payment.

I remember coming home from the job interview where I diagnosed the 
network problem, dancing around and telling my wife I'd nailed it. I 
remember the feeling I got a few days later when she read me the 
rejection letter that said they really needed someone who could see. I 
said it was their loss and tried to believe it. But we really needed our 
health insurance.

Now you have a bunch of lawmakers in Indiana telling us it's okay for 
someone to turn a person down for a job because they're in a gay 
marriage. Most of those lawmakers in Indiana have probably never been 
discriminated against in their lives. They don't know what it's like.

What they are doing is just wrong. And even if you don't agree, we in 
the NFB need to stand  up against discrimination in all of it's forms. 
This law is intended for use against gays but there's no reason it can't 
be used against racial minorities or even disabled people.

We have to add our voices to those who have come out against this law. 
It's the right thing to do.


-- 
John Heim
john at johnheim.com