GenCon says they will move from Indianapolis if state passes discriminatory SB 101

[NewJeffCT]

SB 101 gives businesses the right to discriminate against gays on religious grounds.

GenCon - for those who don't know - is one of the biggest gaming conventions out there and is the prime time for sellers of role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder and others to show off new and upcoming products.

Link to the letter they sent Governor Pence: (it opens as a PDF)

http://files.gencon.com/Gen_Con_Statement_Regarding_SB101.pdf

The organizers of Gen Con, the city's largest convention in attendance and economic impact, are threatening to move the event elsewhere if Gov. Mike Pence signs controversial religious freedom legislation that could allow business owners to refuse services to same-sex couples.

"Legislation that could allow for refusal of service or discrimination against our attendees will have a direct negative impact on the state's economy, and will factor into our decision-making on hosting the convention in the state of Indiana in future years," said Adrian Swartout, owner and CEO of Gen Con LLC, in a letter sent to Pence just hours after lawmakers sent the measure to his desk.

http://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2015/03/24/gen-con-threatens-move-convention-gov-mike-pence-signs-religious-freedom-bill/70393474/

[misterhighwasted]

1. Well Mr Pence, have fun in your State with nobody but your fundi hard right bigots conventio0n.

May the Power of Money bite you in the ass Mr Pence.

[Baitball Blogger]

2. I hope they come to Orlando.

Def something that one of my kids would love to see.

[Dawson Leery]

3. Mark Dayton, Jerry Brown, and Andrew Cuomo most certainly would welcome

GenCon to their states.

[rpannier]

5. California and NY would be unlikely

I've been a gamer since the late 70's (Back when it was just Dungeons and Dragons)
I can't remember any advertisement for Gencon that wasn't in the upper midwest.
I think most of the early ones were Wisconsin

[Aldo Leopold]

13. Lake Geneva, if I remember correctly.

[rpannier]

15. Yep. I do believe that's right

Lake Geneva certainly sounds very familiar
I will have to check my old Dragon magazines

[caraher]

16. Lake Geneva is right

That's the "Gen" in "Gencon"

I went in the early '90s once when it was paired with Origins in Milwaukee. It most likely would remain in the Midwest somewhere.

[Egnever]

4. Cheese and rice!

How do these people get into office thinking they can pass crap like this and that it will stand?

[rpannier]

6. Freedom

cuz freedom isn't free or something like that

[salin]

8. Freedom for people who think like me... if it takes away freedom from others - so what.

Majority Rulez! The minority can eat rotten eggs!

[alp227]

7. Indiana = the Mississippi of the Midwest

in terms of backwards politics

[SoLeftIAmRight]

9. we have only two real votes now

Money - jury nullification

[dbackjon]

10. Great

That is the only thing that Republicans fear losing money

Brewer vetoeda similar bill in Arizona only because the states businesses knew it was bad for their bottom line

[mountain grammy]

11. Over 20 years ago, Colorado voters passed Amendment 2.

I was living in Denver at the time and had 3 friends who were dying of AIDS. My friends and fellow union members fought hard against this disgusting piece of crap that prohibited local communities (like Denver and Aspen) from passing anti discrimination ordinances for sexual orientation. I lived in Denver, where we did have an ordinance prohibiting discrimination for sexual orientation.

I couldn't believe it when voters approved that amendment. We became the target of boycotts, and rightfully so. Stephen King was about to begin filming "The Shining" in Estes Park and canceled. I cheered every boycott. The state deserved it. The amendment was blocked by injunction and eventually ruled unconstitutional.

I hope, if the governor of Indiana signs this hate legislation, his state pays for it, big time!

http://www.publiceye.org/magazine/v07n1/conshomo.html

[Codeine]

12. That's a huge fucking convention.

Fifty thousand+ nerds with cash to spend packing Indy businesses for a week.

[alfredo]

14. They can come to Lexington, Ky.

[caraher]

17. I'm sure many businesses are going a bit nuts over this

I mean the big players like Lilly - it's awfully hard to attract educated professionals to an environment like this. Most college faculty are not going to want to live in Indiana either. Pence's wrecking crew already has a full-on war against education underway.

[Myrina]

19. Several signed a statement urging the legislature to not pass it ...

Lilly, Cummins, the universities, Salesforce ... off the top of my head.

I truly hope the shit hits the fan now. Wonder if the NCAA would threaten to move its HQ?

[AwakeAtLast]

18. As a transplanted Hoosier

I am embarrassed to say I live here.

Goodbye Super Bowl, Final Four (after this one), Big 10 Championship, etc.

I hope NBA and NFL players boycott when they are scheduled to play here.

Indianapolis was just named a "Top 10 city to visit".

One stroke of a pen and POOF! Back to India-no-place.