While LGBT rights in each state will vary depending on the laws that have been passed there at the time, those who are part of this group of individuals in Indiana will find that they can enjoy most of the same rights as anyone else, without discrimination for their lifestyle or beliefs. In fact, same-sex marriage in Indiana has been legal since October 2014, as soon as the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider an appeal to the landmark Baskin vs. Bogan case.
That was just the start to some of the rights that the LGBT community were able to enjoy in Indiana. In a court ruling done in April 2017 in the state, it was determined that discrimination of a person based on them being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender was the same as sex discrimination as defined by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The ruling established that the sexual orientation of an individual was protected in the workplace, and that employers were not allowed to discriminate against these employees.
Even though there have been some big strides in the state for the LGBT community, there are states that tend to have more liberal laws and Indiana still has some limitations that could be worked through. For example, the state statutes of Indiana have not been amended to have gender identity and sexual orientation among the non-discrimination grounds.
The Early Days of Same-Sex Activity in Indiana
When compared to some of the laws that were around for the LGBT community in the past, Indiana is now quite liberal in what they allowed. As early as 1795, Indiana was part of the Northwest Territory and they passed the buggery law. This was a law that punished any male sodomy that happened at the time with death.
Then a few years later, in 1807, Indiana then enacted a criminal code for all citizens, which included a provision for sodomy, eliminating the gender-specifics. This meant that both homosexual and heterosexual conduct would be considered criminal. The penalties also got worse, with the prison time going from one to five years and the fine going up to $500. It was also possible to permanently lose your civil rights if you were convicted at the time.
One thing that was interesting is that there was a brief time between 1852 to 181 where sodomy was considered legal. This is because the state passed a new criminal code and it didn’t explicitly mention sodomy at all. Then in 1881, the law changed again. It had a statute that outlawed any anal intercourse, fellatio, and masturbation for anyone under the age of 21 for both homosexuals and heterosexuals. The penalty for being caught with this was no more than 14 years, but no less than two years at the time.
