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Professor Rob Katz commented on the Indiana Senate Republicans' LGBT bill for the Indianapolis Star, which quoted him as saying of the bill, “This is a starting point, but it’s unlikely it will answer the concerns raised about LGBT rights at the end of last session.” It reported Katz as saying that the bill's religious exemptions up front were especially problematic. (Read the Star article.)

These exemptions, Katz explains, include "an unwarranted infringement on the right of Indiana cities and counties to enact human rights ordinances that provide LGBT Hoosiers and other minorities with more protection than available under state law."

"The Senate bill's first five lines threaten to undo all the progress made by communities throughout Indiana -- including Carmel, Columbus, Hammond, Muncie, Terre Haute, Whitestown, and Zionsville -- to demonstrate that they are open for business and welcome all comers, regardless of what state legislature does or doesn't do to protect the civil rights of LGBT Hoosiers.  Indiana's current civil rights law authorizes localities to enact human rights ordinances that provide historically marginalized groups with more protection than under state law. It sets a floor on permissible discrimination in Indiana but not a ceiling.  Over a dozen localities have exercised this authority to enact human rights ordinances that crisply and cleanly ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.  The Senate Republican bill threatens to turn the matter on its head.  It would set a ceiling on what local communities can do to combat discrimination within their borders. The many Indiana communities that have worked so hard to make their LGBT members feel welcome -- and to distance themselves from the state's less-than-stellar record on this count -- will likely resent this infringement of their autonomy.”

Professor Katz teaches courses on nonprofit law, the First Amendment, law and religion, and the law of healthcare organizations.