On Wednesday, Sen. Jeff Raatz, R-Richmond, chair of the Senate Education and Career Development committee, told members of the public they could not record videos during the public hearing on HB 1041. The attempt to block public recordings came during the hearing of a controversial bill that would ban trans kids from youth sports. More than 30 Hoosiers testified in opposition to the bill, with the hearing lasting roughly four hours.
Ken Falk, Legal Director with the ACLU of Indiana issued this statement:
“Open door laws exist in order to allow the public access to elected officials and their decision-making process. This allows Hoosiers the opportunity to hold their lawmakers accountable.
“What happened at Wednesday night's hearing not only violates open door laws, but also makes it more difficult for Hoosiers’ to hear from the student athletes, faith leaders, families, organizations, and members of the LGBTQ community who came out to testify against this legislation that appears to violate federal law and the Constitution.
“The ACLU of Indiana will continue to closely monitor this bill and the legislative process surrounding it.”
