GiaQuinta: Schools must be shown they cannot discriminate

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana House Democratic Leader Phil GiaQuinta (D-Fort Wayne) today issued the following statement after Indianapolis Cathedral High School announced it had fired a teacher in a same-sex marriage:

“Again, we see a public institution engaged in an obvious act of discrimination because of sexual identity, but we do not have to sit by and watch this happen.

“Cathedral High School has received nearly $3.5 million in state taxpayer funds for its voucher program since the 2016-17 school year. I do not feel that the people of Indiana should be financially supporting discrimination against faculty, staff or students at any school.

“While I believe Hoosiers agree with me, such views are not supported by the Indiana House Republicans, who rejected efforts to stop providing taxpayer dollars to schools that discriminate on two separate occasions during the 2019 legislative session. Those efforts came because Roncalli High School told two counselors they could not work there because of their sexual orientation.

“As long as schools continue to think they can get away with discrimination, we will continue to try keeping them from getting taxpayer support. Why Republicans should support these practices is a mystery.”