INTERESTING BILLS UP BEFORE THE INDIANA LEGISLATORS

There are two bills that are up before the current Indiana legislative session. These are the bills from the previous years that have not been resolved.

One bill is SB 0217 which is a human and sexual trafficking bill that does not go far enough. It targets only the sexual side of human trafficking. It does not go into the international adoption side. That is currently a major issue amongst adoption reformists.

Here is the quoted text of the bill:

Human and sexual trafficking. Allows a court to order the: (1) dissolution or reorganization of; or (2) suspension, revocation, or forfeiture of a license, permit, charter, or prior approval granted by an agency of the state to; a corporation, a limited liability company, a partnership, or an unincorporated association if an agent of the corporation, company, partnership, or association commits a human or sexual trafficking offense while acting within the scope of the agent's authority. Provides that it is a defense that a person who engaged in criminal conduct did so because the person was a victim of a human or sexual trafficking offense. Makes it promotion of human trafficking, a Class B felony, for a person to recruit, harbor, or transport another person by force, threat of force, or fraud to force the other person into appearing in a state of nudity or engaging in or participating in an obscene performance or a performance that is harmful to minors. Makes it human trafficking, a Class C felony, for a person to pay, offer to pay, or agree to pay money or other property to another person for an individual whom the person knows has been forced into appearing in a state of nudity or engaging in or participating in an obscene performance or a performance that is harmful to minors. Makes it promoting prostitution, a Class C felony, for a person to sell or offer to sell travel services that include or facilitate travel for the purpose of patronizing a prostitute in Indiana or another jurisdiction. Requires an international matchmaking organization to provide a copy of a client's criminal history information and marital history declaration and certain other information to a recruit of the organization in the recruit's native language and English.

Another bill of interest is HB 1358. It prohibits discrimination based on ancestry. This is the third year running on this bill. It has yet to be passed.

Here is the quoted text of that bill:

Civil rights. Extends antidiscrimination and civil rights statutes to include prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, and ancestry.

Its time to start writing legislators to let them know that they are violated our rights by discriminating against us by treating us separately.