"Fix This Now" was a headline in the The Indianapolis Star in March 31st, 2015, referencing the newly passed "Religious Freedom" law that many said could allow businesses to deny serving LGBT couples on the basis of religious obligations. [1]
"Fix This Now" was a headline in the The Indianapolis Star in March 31st, 2015, referencing the newly passed "Religious Freedom" law that many said could allow businesses to deny serving LGBT couples on the basis of religious obligations. [1]
"Fix This Now" was the headline on the front page of Indiana's dominant newspaper, [2] the Indianapolis Star , on March 31, 2015. Almost the entire front page of the newspaper was taken by the headline, set in large white letters on a black background.
It is unusual for a 20th- or 21st-century mass-market American newspaper to dedicate its entire front page to an editorial or for a non-tabloid to set any headline in such large type. Many publications commented on the headline on the day of its appearance. The Washington Post called the move "extraordinary", [3] the New York Daily News called it "rare". [4] Other major publications such as Time also took immediate notice of the Star's editorial, [5] [6] [7] and news of and commentary on the event was quickly and widely tweeted and circulated on social media. [2] [8]
The editorial was occasioned by Indiana's newly passed Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). Unlike many State Religious Freedom Restoration Acts, Indiana's did not (at that time) prohibit its use to discriminate against LGBT people and allowed private entities to cite the law as a defense in a civil suit. The editorial called on the legislature and Indiana governor Mike Pence to pass another law ensuring that the law cannot be used as an excuse to discriminate against gay people:
We are at a critical moment in Indiana's history. And much is at stake... Half steps will not undo the damage... Gov. Mike Pence and the General Assembly need to enact a state law to prohibit discrimination in employment, housing, education and public accommodations on the basis of a person's sexual orientation or gender identity. Those protections and RFRA can co-exist. They do elsewhere... Governor, Indiana is in a state of crisis. It is worse than you seem to understand. You must act with courage and wisdom. You must lead us forward now. You must ensure that all Hoosiers have strong protections against discrimination.
— Indianapolis Star (Jeff Taylor, editor), "Gov. Pence, fix 'religious freedom' law now", Indianapolis Star [9]
The editorial, which also promoted the hashtag #WeAreIndiana with the assertion that "Indiana embraces everyone and we do not discriminate", was published in the context of a larger general backlash against the Indiana law.
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The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, Pub. L. No. 103-141, 107 Stat. 1488, codified at 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb through 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb-4, is a 1993 United States federal law that "ensures that interests in religious freedom are protected." The bill was introduced by Congressman Chuck Schumer (D–NY) on March 11, 1993. A companion bill was introduced in the Senate by Ted Kennedy (D-MA) the same day. A unanimous U.S. House and a nearly unanimous U.S. Senate—three senators voted against passage—passed the bill, and President Bill Clinton signed it into law.
The Indianapolis Star is a morning daily newspaper that began publishing on June 6, 1903, in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It has been the only major daily paper in the city since 1999, when the Indianapolis News ceased publication. It won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting in 2021 and the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting twice, in 1975 and 1991. It is currently owned by Gannett.
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Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., 573 U.S. 682 (2014), is a landmark decision in United States corporate law by the United States Supreme Court allowing privately held for-profit corporations to be exempt from a regulation that its owners religiously object to, if there is a less restrictive means of furthering the law's interest, according to the provisions of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. It is the first time that the Court has recognized a for-profit corporation's claim of religious belief, but it is limited to privately held corporations. The decision does not address whether such corporations are protected by the free exercise of religion clause of the First Amendment of the Constitution.
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