Congrats, Gov. Mike Pence & Co.!
Indiana may have lost as much as $60 million in hotel profits, tax revenue and other economic benefits when a dozen groups decided against hosting conventions in Indianapolis last year due at least in part to the controversy surrounding the state's religious objections law.
A document prepared by the tourism group Visit Indy shows that the 12 out-of-state groups were surveyed and all said that the state's controversial law played a role in their decision to hold their events elsewhere. The document was obtained by The Associated Press ahead of its formal release Thursday. [...]
"We'd say, 'Why didn't you select Indy?' and they proactively cited (the law) as a reason they did not select Indianapolis," Gahl said when asked about the document. "That is not news you want to hear when you are in the business of marketing a city."
Splendid! Nothing like paying out millions in order to statutorily guarantee the right to discriminate against LGBT Americans which, by the way, already existed in your state anyway. So really, nothing's changed for Hoosiers except the state's bottom line, which is now tens of millions of dollars lower.
Hey, that went so well, why don't you guys also try to strip LGBT protections away from the dozen or so local jurisdictions that now provide them?
Oh wait, you guys are already on it! ‘Cuz nothing says Happy New Year like another round of bigot bills.