Indianapolis, IN
‘Obscene performances’ public funding ban moves forward
INDIANAPOLIS (INDIANA CAPITAL CHRONICLE) — A bill that left the Senate with near-universal support picked up a “barnacle in committee,” as one House Democrat put it last week, leaving the House on a 71-20 vote Monday.
The House additions widen the scope of the underlying bill beyond an effort to replace a criminal term throughout Indiana code to include a focus on obscene performances.
As originally written, Senate Bill 326 would have replaced “child pornography” with “child sex abuse material,” acknowledging that children are being sexually abused in such images. But a House committee added a new provision: barring government entities from using public money to fund, organize or host “obscene performances.”
A House floor amendment, which moved largely along party lines, also added a method of enforcement by allowing people to sue Indiana entities for alleged incidents.
“Language shapes the way we understand and confront these issues and the term child pornography is not only inaccurate, it minimizes the horror of the crimes committed. Pornography implies a level of consent and children cannot consent,” said House sponsor Rep. Andrew Ireland. “… we’re taking an important step to save our Hoosier children.”
The Indianapolis Republican said the language regarding obscene performances would ensure “that public funds are never used to support the exploitation of children.”
Defining something as obscene has to meet a high bar, known as the “Miller Test.” That work must be based on an average person’s reaction and consider the entire work, not just an isolated portion.
But critics maintained that such performances aren’t happening, noting there are already penalties regardless of someone’s government affiliation.
“More and more this General Assembly is taking itself to an alternate reality where it legislates against problems that don’t exist,” said Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington. “We create a strawman and then we knock it down and ‘Look at us! We really solved that problem!’
“The problem never existed. But it appeals to somebody out there, so we do it now.”
Further discussion
Ireland didn’t cite specific instances of obscene performances using taxpayer dollars on Monday nor in his testimony last week when he introduced the penalty language.
It also doesn’t limit such legal action to only Indiana residents, meaning that, according to Pierce, “any person in the universe can sue your local government when they’re offended by somebody and try to make an argument that it’s obscene.”
Pierce was one of the committee members to advance the bill, noting the high bar to meet the state’s obscenity standard, which he dubbed a “barnacle” on the House floor last week. In addition to the Miller test, a litigant would generally need to prove they have been harmed by obscene performances — a barrier meant to tamp down on frivolous lawsuits.
But Pierce said the language eviscerates that and says “we don’t care if they’re harmed or not. We don’t care if they have a direct injury.”
Municipalities may still need to spend their dollars defending themselves from such accusations, which could include plays, poetry and drag shows.
“Keep in mind, anybody involved in this supposed obscene performance that local government might be funding can already be arrested and imprisoned under our current (law),” Pierce continued. “I would think the fear of going to prison would keep local officials from going into the smut-peddling business.”
Ireland agreed with Pierce that such obscene performances “have never occurred and I hope never occur … in part, thanks to this bill.”
“This is nothing new under the sun,” concluded Ireland.
The final vote tally split both parties, though only Ireland and Pierce spoke on the measure. It now goes to the Senate, which must vote to accept or reject the House amendments before the bill can advance.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — It was another busy week in high school sports in central Indiana and ‘The Zone Extra’ has it all covered.
Athlete of the week and Guerin Catholic senior outfielder Ian Taylor is off to a scorching hot start to the young season. Check out his interview as well as Guerin Catholic head coach Dave Schrage talk about Taylor’s success.
The Johnson County baseball tournament came to a close. See highlights from Center Grove’s tournament victory.
The 4A baseball coaches poll was released as well as the 3A softball coaches poll.
The former Columbus North gymnastics coach, John Hinds, passed away at 88 years old.
Center Grove head softball coach Alyssa Coleman joins the show for a coaches corner conversation.
See highlights from the Colts Local Pro Day, featuring several former Hoosiers and Purdue’s Devin Mockobee.
Girls lacrosse is in the first season as an IHSAA emerging sport.
All of that, and more, can be found in the full The Zone Extra show above.
(WISH) — A tornado watch was issued until 3 a.m. EDT Saturday for counties northwest and west of Indianapolis, and into Illinois.
Indiana counties in the watch area are Boone, Carroll, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Elkhart, Fountain, Fulton, Howard, Kosciusko, La Porte, Marshall, Miami, Montgomery, Parke, Pulaski, Putnam, St. Joseph, Starke, Tippecanoe, Vermillion, Vigo, Wabash, Warren and White. The watch area includes the cities of Crawfordsville, Elkhart, Lafayette, Lebanon, South Bend, Terre Haute, and West Lafayette.
The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center has issued two watches in Indiana. The other one until midnight EDT Friday includes the Indiana counties of Benton, Jasper, Lake, Newton and Porter. That includes the city of Gary. That watch also extends into Illinois.
Storms on Friday night in central Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Minnesota led to dozens of confirmed tornado warnings. The storms in central Illinois has gusts up to 80 mph, and tornadoes embedded in heavy rain.
An alert issued after 10:30 p.m. Friday from the National Weather Service at Indianapolis said, “A line of strong thunderstorms is nearing the state line with a history of widespread damaging winds and tornadoes. The line is expected to continue to produce damaging winds as it moves into Indiana with the potential for additional tornadoes. The line is then expected to gradually weaken as it moves further into the state.”
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Athenaeum in downtown Indianapolis is getting ready to welcome spring with its annual St. Benno Festival this Saturday.
Organizers say it’s one of the longest-running cultural festivals in Indianapolis.
St. Benno Festival is based on the German tradition of “Frühlingsfest,” the springtime version of Oktoberfest, Athenaeum Foundation President Craig Mince says.
“It would always be the festival that would open up the beer garden,” Mince said. “So that was kind of their kickoff of the spring and that warmer season. “
The Athenaeum’s celebration focuses on St. Benno, the patron saint of anglers and the city of Munich, Germany.
There’s a lot of folklore surrounding St. Benno. He’s said to have created Bach beer. He also had a sidekick, “Einbeck,” which means “billy goat” in German.
Legend has it that when the invaders were coming to Munich, he threw the key to a church into a body of water. Years later, he caught a fish that had eaten the key and retrieved it.
“When the German immigrants came here to central Indiana, Indianapolis in particular, they started to organize,” Mince said. “They celebrated Benno. They celebrated Bach beer. So that was kind of the beginning of this institution.”
St. Benno Fest will include lots of beer, pretzels, and Gomez BBQ’s doner kebab.
Francene Thomas, the Athenaeum’s event and festivals manager, says there’s a lot of thought that goes into the menu.
“We want to definitely bring the tradition of this festival and continue that, but also, just bring some fresh flavor to it, too.”
The celebration serves as a fundraiser for the Athenaeum. Money raised will go back into maintenance and other events that promote German culture.
Tickets are $25 and can be bought in advance on the Athenaeum website. St. Benno Fest is a 21+ event and runs from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
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