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Senate Republicans' LGBT Rights Bill No Longer Includes The 'T'

Indiana Senate Republicans

Senate Republicans are proposing what they call an “alternative” to their original legislation protecting the LGBT community from discrimination.

The new bill leaves out transgender Hoosiers as a protected class.

GOP Senator Travis Holdman’s first proposed LGBT bill added sexual orientation and gender identity to Indiana’s civil rights statute, while ensuring certain religious freedom protections. 

Neither side of the debate was happy about the measure. 

Holdman’s new effort keeps sexual orientation as a protected class, but  the gender identity portion is moved to a summer study committee.

“I think to give the transgender community the center stage on this issue in a summer study committee I think basically responds to their concern that we don’t understand their issue,” Holdman says.

But Sen. Tim Lanane (D-Anderson) says even Holdman’s original bill was flawed because it still allowed some discrimination.

“And now they’ve decided that quite a lot of discrimination is okay in the state of Indiana,” Lanane says.

Holdman says he expects both his bills – the original and his new alternative – will receive hearings later this month.

Brandon Smith is excited to be working for public radio in Indiana. He has previously worked in public radio as a reporter and anchor in mid-Missouri for KBIA Radio out of Columbia. Prior to that, he worked for WSPY Radio in Plano, Illinois as a show host, reporter, producer and anchor. His first job in radio was in another state capitol, in Jefferson City, Missouri, as a reporter for three radio stations around Missouri. Brandon graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2010, with minors in political science and history. He was born and raised in Chicago.