The ever-slimey Gov. Mike "deer caught in headlights" Pence is trying to make the case in his op-ed that his "i hate teh gayz" law is only about the most trivial of minor, teeny weeny, little itty bitty inconveniences:
If I saw a restaurant owner refuse to serve a gay couple, I wouldn’t eat there anymore
But, make no mistake about it -- this law will cost lives. That's because, like many other states, not every public service in Indiana is handled by actual government entities. Many essential government services are now performed by private companies. Think hospitals, ambulances and fire departments, just for a start. More below the fold.
The Indiana secretary of state lists 1,720 private or non-profit hospitals in the state. There are 290 private ambulance companies and some 534 volunteer fire departments. And many other essential services, services that ordinary people rely upon, have been handed off to the worst of corporate predators, like Medicaid or other public assistance programs, school guards and prisons (although the disastrous handoff of Medicaid benefits to their crony buddies has been reversed, their headlong rush to privatize everything not nailed down continues apace).
So, if you're a security guard and you've been hired to protect the local high school, but you never really did like that "queer guy in the 10th grade", you're golden. You can just stand there and watch while he gets pummeled right there in front of you -- and get paid to do so. If you're a paramedic but you always hated going to calls at "that" club, not a problem. You can just happily ignore any "emergency" medical calls there. Hey, it's their lifestyle, don'cha know? And if you're a firefighter but you just don't like the way that transgender couple looks in unit 3B -- well, you can just let their apartment "burn, baby, burn".
Because nothing says "love thy neighbor as you love thyself" like not treating a newborn baby because you don't like her 2 mommies.