Indiana Attorney General: It is ‘doubly inappropriate’ to say if pro-gay laws are consitutional
The Attorney General of Indiana has shut down any debate over whether laws passed there are constitutional.
Republican Representative Bruce Borders, of Jasonville, had posed question over whether a bill going through the state Senate to protect LGBT people would be constitutional.
Senate Bill 100, authored by Senator Travis Holdman, would extend protections for sexual orientation and gender identity to civil rights laws in the state.
It also includes some protections for religious objectors.
Borders wrote a letter to Attorney General Greg Zoeller, asking an opinion on whether the bill would be constitutional.
Chief Deputy Attorney General Matt Light in a statement shot down the letter, saying it would be “doubly inappropriate” for the office to weigh in.
“It should be noted that all laws the Legislature has passed are presumed to be constitutional, until and unless a court rules otherwise,” Light said.
“Therefore it would be inappropriate to issue a formal legal opinion questioning a potential statute that the office might have to defend.”
He went on to say that it would be “doubly inappropriate”, because Indiana is defending itself against a lawsuit filed by the Indiana Family Institute and American Family Association of Indiana, challenging the amended Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
