Indianapolis, April 1, 2005-- The headline "This is Your Brain on Indiana" with a stark photo of a sink drain greeted hundreds of job seekers as they entered the Indiana Collegiate Job Fair held at the Indiana Convention Center on March 31.
The effort was put together by Indiana Action Network, a statewide network of activists who have organized to fight what it calls "the wave of bigotry and discrimination that has descended upon our state."
According to IAN spokesman Jerame Davis, the fliers are part of its "Truth Telling" campaign, intended to educate Hoosiers about the negative effects of SJR7, the Constitutional Amendment to ban same-sex marriage and all "incidents of marriage" that recently passed the Indiana General Assembly.
"There are so many things wrong with this amendment," Davis states, "but the Brain Drain factor is one that is too often overlooked by the average citizen."
The phrase "Brain Drain" is used to describe the situation in which students from Indiana's superb higher learning institutions tend to move to other states after being graduated. IAN believes Indiana's image as an intolerant and somewhat backward state, a situation that is exacerbated by the proposed amendment, is one of the leading contributors to the "Brain Drain" phenomenon.
The job fair attendees were also handed fliers with a scowling photo of Eric Miller containing a message reminding them of the GLBT contribution to the cultural scene in Indianapolis and other Indiana cities and towns.
"We're seeing something in addition to what people think of as traditional brain drain," Davis says. "GLBT people are leaving the state in droves, and many of them were an integral part of the arts and entertainment scenes in the communities they lived in."
Davis says his group wants up-and-coming young professionals to understand the danger of the amendment before they decide to settle in the state of Indiana after graduation.
"For many young people, having a cool 'scene' is as important as things like salary and cost of living," he says. "We don't want young professionals to settle in this state without knowing the danger this Amendment poses to our communities."
IAN's activity at the Convention Center initially ran into trouble when security personnel attempted to block the group from distributing the fliers. The Marion County Sheriff's Department soon arrived and settled the issue, allowing IAN to pass out fliers on the sidewalks providing they were not standing under the convention center overhang.
"The reaction from recipients was amazing," stated Bil Browning, one of the IAN members who spent the day passing out fliers. "Several people came back to thank me for the information."
Indiana Action Network first appeared on the scene on March 8, 2005 with a very vocal disruption of the "Traditional Marriage Rally" held at the Indiana State House by Miller and his extremist group "Advance America." That disruption, along with the unprecedented "Rock Indiana!" protest on the State House steps, dominated news coverage of the day.
IAN has recently launched a website, www.Indiana-action.net, and the group is encouraging the community to freely download copies of the fliers that were handed out at the IUPUI job fair and distribute them throughout the state.
The site also has downloadable versions of the notorious "Wanted" posters, which feature all of the Indiana State Senate and State Representatives who voted for the amendment. The posters charge each member with "bigotry, discrimination, and crimes against the Constitution."
"This amendment is an all-out attack on the GLBT community with lots of collateral damage to boot," says Davis. "We're here to help the community understand every aspect of this thing, and to help provide the information needed to join us in fighting it."