By John Krull
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS – A short time after the Indiana Senate opted to delay putting a controversial proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage on the ballot for at least two years, President Pro Tem David Long, R-Fort Wayne, said

John Krull, publisher, TheStatehouseFile.com

something disturbing.

Reporters asked Long whether a federal court decision the day before that struck down a key piece of Kentucky’s constitutional ban on gay marriage had affected the Senate’s decision. The language in Kentucky’s constitution was virtually identical to Indiana’s proposed amendment.

“I am convinced that it does not make a difference. In the end, the United States Supreme Court will make the decision on whether or not it’s a state-by-state determination or whether the 14^thamendment will rule and that all marriage is the same,” Long said.

If that’s the case, then the question is: Why?

If the issue of gay marriage ultimately is going to be decided by the Supreme Court, then why did the leaders of this state – including Long – push Indiana through this protracted and increasingly ugly battle?

Why did Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, sow seeds of mistrust with his sleight-of-hand reassignment of House Joint Resolution 3 from one committee to another just so he could get it to the floor? Why did Elections Committee Chairman Milo Smith, R-Columbus, kick a 20-year U.S. Air Force veteran out of a committee meeting for making a silent gesture of disapproval?

Why did Long, Bosma and Gov. Mike Pence keep Hoosiers at each others’ throats for weeks?

If Long is right and the only votes that truly count on this issue are the nine that sit on the nation’s highest court, why did the people of Indiana have go to war with each other?

I ask the question not just for the many, many gay and lesbian Hoosiers who, even though they won a significant victory by delaying HJR 3’s implementation, still feel as though their rights as citizens and their dignity as human beings are under constant assault.

I also ask it on behalf of the social conservatives who came away from this bruising process feeling as though they had lost something precious.

I won’t pretend that I think the social conservatives’ cause is just – because it isn’t – but I know that their concern is genuine. The best of their leadership – Curt Smith of the Indiana Family Institute, for example – sincerely sees this not as an assault on gay Hoosiers but as a defense of an essential building block in the foundation of a healthy and just social order.

Conservatives such as Smith don’t like gay marriage, but they also don’t like seeing high divorce rates, large numbers of children being born out of wedlock and what they perceive as a social order under assault. They feel embattled and under siege, as if all they held dear were being torn away from them.

And if Bosma, Long and Pence had wanted to devise a process that would make social conservatives feel even more embattled, embittered and under siege, they couldn’t have found a better process than the one through which our leaders just pushed Hoosiers.

At moments of conflict such as these, skilled leaders remind citizens of the things that unite us and assure us that, regardless of the outcome, we will remain one country, one state, one community, one family.

Indiana’s leaders didn’t do that.

Instead of calming the waters, Long, Bosma and Pence roiled them. Instead of mollifying fears, at every turn they exacerbated tensions. Instead of counseling peace, at every opportunity they escalated the conflict.

They left both winners and losers in this Indiana family feud feeling bruised, battered and resentful.

And, in the end, perhaps without meaning to, Long acknowledged that Indiana’s leaders did what they did for no good reason. The final decision about gay marriage wasn’t, isn’t and won’t be in Hoosiers’ hands.

That’s just pitiful.

At a time when Hoosiers most needed leadership, Indiana’s leaders did everything but lead.

John Krull is director of Franklin College’s Pulliam School of Journalism, host of “No Limits” WFYI 90.1 Indianapolis and publisher of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.

By Antonio Cordero
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS — Severe winter weather has forced schools across Indiana to cancel classes numerous times, leaving the question of if that time would need to be made up. Thursday, the Indiana Department of Education released a plan offering schools options to makeup snow days.

According to the department, the required makeup obligation would have to meet the definition of a full instructional day: five hours for grades 1 through 6, and six hours for grades 7 through 12.

“This year’s storms have been extreme and have interrupted instruction for schools throughout the state. I have spoken with countless superintendents throughout the state and they have all asked for more flexibility for scheduling instructional time. I have heard their concerns, and I am happy to make these options available to our schools,” said Glenda Ritz, Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction, in a statement.

Non-waiver options for lost instructional time include calendar changes and additional full days, such as school on Saturdays or adding days at the end of the established school calendar. Conditional waiver options would consist of making up lost instructional days by adding additional time to each day. For example, instead of having a six-hour instructional day for a high school, an hour would be added to the day to minimize the amount of extra days students would have to attend after the regular school calendar year.

“The goal here is to give as much flexibility and as many options as we can to schools,” said Daniel Altman, press secretary for the Indiana Department of Education. “We think that these decisions are best made at the local level and we want to make sure that they have as many options available as we can give them.”

Schools have until June 30^th to file for conditional waiver options. They would also have to provide evidence of school board approval demonstrating that the total amount of time added to instructional days is equal to the number of instructional days requested to be waived through the application.

The guidelines apply only to public school corporations. Schools with any unexcused lost instructional days would be subject to a financial penalty. The new snow day options go into effect immediately.

Antonio Cordero is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.

Hoosiers have until Tuesday, Feb. 18, to register for state’s Do Not Call list

 

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller said Hoosiers should be wary of calls and door-to-door solicitors offering home security or alarm systems.

More than 150 consumers from across the state recently filed complaints with the Attorney General’s Office after receiving unwanted calls, including robocalls, offering home security systems.  Zoeller’s office tracked the illegal out-of-state calls to Justin Ramsey, owner of Loyal Marketing, LLC, and subsequently filed a state lawsuit.

“Consumers should be cautious when receiving an unsolicited call or knock at the door from a home-security salesperson,” Zoeller said.  “High-pressure or deceptive sales tactics are often used by scammers to convince you to buy an expensive alarm monitoring contract or replace your current alarm monitoring company.  Hoosiers can usually expect an uptick in these types of solicitations leading into spring.”

A Hamilton County Superior Court judge awarded the state a Default Judgment against Ramsey which included $4.375M in civil penalties after the defendant failed to respond.  Zoeller said the judgment marks the second highest total amount awarded to the state in a case involving telephone privacy violations, and his office will aggressively pursue what is owed to the state.

Zoeller said unscrupulous solicitors may make you a limited-time offer and pressure you to make a quick decision.  Consumers should be on alert for offers of free security systems which are often attached to pricey, long-term system monitoring contracts.  A salesperson may also tell consumers that their current security company has gone out of business or was purchased by the salesperson’s company, or may even use scare tactics by mentioning a rash of burglaries in your neighborhood.

In Indiana, most robocalls are illegal regardless of whether or not your number is registered on the Do Not Call list.  Exceptions include calls from school districts to students, parents or employees and businesses advising employees of work schedules.

Zoeller advised Hoosiers that legitimate telemarketers will not call those numbers registered on the state’s Do Not Call list and that those who are on the state’s protected list should treat any unsolicited call as a scam and hang-up immediately.

The next quarterly deadline to register for the Do Not Call list is Tuesday, Feb. 18. Consumers can register their residential landline, cell, VOIP or prepaid wireless numbers for free by visiting www.IndianaConsumer.com or by calling 1.888.834.9969.

Individuals do not need to re-register unless their address has changed.  Out-of-state area codes can also be added as long as the billing address is located in Indiana.  Those consumers who are registered and receive an unwanted call can file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office by visiting www.IndianaConsumer.com.

Zoeller thanked Deputy Attorney General Eliza Bradley for her work on this case and dedication to the Consumer Protection Division within the Attorney General’s Office.