Indiana Lawmakers Working Hard to Trash Gay License Plate

Republican Indiana lawmakers are working overtime to come up with legislation to revoke the state's recently approved LGBT-friendly license plate, which provides funds for gay youth at risk.

Rep. Ed Soliday successfully proposed changes to a state Senate bill, which would disqualify nine of the 10 groups awarded license plates this year. Additionally, 12 groups that sold less than 1,000 plates last year would not be allowed to distribute additional plates. Organizations including the Indiana Youth Group, the Indianapolis Zoo, and the American Diabetes Association could all lose their license plates and the funding that comes with them.

Soliday says his proposal, which passed a House committee on Wednesday, is meant to stop the "proliferation of specialty plates," according to The Indianapolis Star. Soliday's efforts come after another Republican representative, Jeffrey Thompson, tried three times to amend the Senate bill to kill the plates from IYG, which had to sue to get them approved.

IYG representatives decry the efforts, saying the plates provide them with tens of thousands in funding dollars every year -- the loss of the plates would require them to fire a full-time employee.

"It is unfair that all of these reputable organizations have, in good faith, met all of the requirements and deadlines set by the state," Mary Byrne, IYG executive director, said in a press release. "We have a five-year contract signed by members of this administration. What does it mean to have a contract with the state if they can arbitrarily void a contract? What does having a contract with the state of Indiana mean?" Read more here.