Five days later, Gahan murmurs softly about RFRA — but he must be asked his opinion first.

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Here it is, as posted on the city’s propaganda feed at around 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 31, to the acclaim of everyone who already holds a Democratic Party sinecure — or wants one.

Mayor Jeff Gahan had these remarks when asked about the RFRA and what it means for the City of New Albany:

“Southern Indiana values are not reflected in the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and it needs to be changed. Elected officials have a duty to create an environment that welcomes everyone and discriminates against no one. The current RFRA law does neither of these.”

That’s right. He had to be asked. Perhaps no one knew the security code to City Hall’s down-low bunker.

No, it’s not to be confused with MLK’s dream, but actually it’s slightly better than Wendy Dant Chesser’s classic bureaucratic waffling on behalf of One Southern Indiana (bold emphasis ours):

One Southern Indiana President Responds to Religious Freedom Restoration Act

 … No business asked 1si to take a position on S.B. 101 before it passed. However, now that it has passed, 1si is listening to the concerns of its members and investors and will watch with great interest what effect the law actually has. Most importantly, though, 1si will let businesses interested in moving to or growing in Southern Indiana know that ours is a welcoming and business-friendly community committed to meeting their workforce needs.

The 1si advocacy guidelines are clear. The role of 1si in promoting a fiscally-stable, business-friendly environment transcends local, regional, state and national issues. In January of 2015, the board of directors of 1si approved the 2015 Advocacy Agenda, which includes positions on career-ready workforce and educational initiatives; infrastructure and transportation, business-friendly tax and fiscal initiatives; regional initiatives; and engagement with policy makers. 

The RFRA issue is not germane to any of these categories, and so the organization did not take a position on the bill.

She’s playing the part of that chief custodian I told you about: “It’s not my area.”

Except it is, for all of us.

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