Just Released: IFI’s 2024 Legislative Scorecard

9/30/24

Each year, IFI creates a “Legislative Scorecard” to review the performance of state lawmakers during the previous legislative session. It has proven to be an insightful tool for voters seeking transparency and honesty from their representatives. We’re pleased to finally share our 2024 Legislative Scorecard with you ahead of the November election so you can cast an informed vote.

The 2024 Legislative Scorecard graded lawmakers based on whether their votes aligned with IFI’s core values on several critical bills. Three of those bills are described below:

SB 17: Age Verification for Adult Websites – PASSED

This much-needed bill prohibits minors from accessing adult-oriented websites containing harmful materials such as explicit sexual content. SB 17, which has been signed into law by the governor, requires adult-oriented websites to verify the age of users through a mobile credential or third-party verification service. If a minor does access an explicit adult website, their parents or guardians may sue the website’s operator, which could lead to an injunction against the site.

SB 202: Protecting First Amendment Rights in Universities – PASSED

SB 202 establishes protections for the First Amendment rights of faculty, staff, and students in Indiana universities. Under this bill, faculty members who do not foster “a culture of free inquiry, free expression, and intellectual diversity” may be subject to disciplinary action by their institution’s board of trustees, preventing professors from forcing political or ideological agendas onto their students. It also establishes protections for faculty and staff members by ensuring they are not required to make a pledge that supports the institution’s belief system or agenda. We are thrilled that this bill was signed into law by the governor and took effect on July 1st before the school year began.

HB 1137: Religious Release Time Instruction for Public Schools – PASSED

HB 1137 requires principals at public schools to allow students to attend religious classes during the school day, provided the classes are off school property, privately funded, and parent permitted. This concept is protected by a 1952 US Supreme Court ruling but was never brought to fruition in Indiana law. We believe HB 1137 will revolutionize Indiana schools and positively impact countless lives. This bill has been signed into law by the governor.

You can read more about the other bills legislators were graded on in our 2024 Legislative Agenda.

We are able to develop these helpful resources due in large part to your faithful giving. We are incredibly grateful for your support. Please consider taking a “leap of faith” this leap year and double your giving from 2023 so we can continue our important work in the Statehouse and communities around Indiana.

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Thanks for joining us!

9/25/24

Thank you to everyone who attended our annual Fall Dinner last Monday. It was a wonderful time of fellowship, learning, and honoring our faithful legislators. 

We welcomed over 500 guests and a large group of legislators and state officials at the dinner, as well as lieutenant gubernatorial candidate Micah Beckwith and Pastor Tony Smith, who was awarded the Daniel Award for his faithful presence at the statehouse. 

This year we had the honor of hearing from Riley Gaines as our keynote speaker. She did an excellent job and we appreciated her insight into women’s sports in Indiana and what IFI can do to continue supporting female athletes in our state and around the nation. 

“Having been immersed in the political sphere these past two years, it becomes easy to pick out groups that are effective, and groups that take money but get nothing done,” Riley shared. “I can tell you IFI is not one of those groups. This is a group that has boots on the ground. They are in the capitol, they are testifying on bills, they are drafting legislation. They are finding the candidates who are qualified, who will be successful, who will represent you in the way you deserve to be represented. I can’t stress enough the importance of supporting IFI.” 

We also heard from gubernatorial candidate Senator Mike Braun via a pre-recorded video, in which he committed to working with IFI to strengthen parental rights in Indiana if elected in November. Click here to watch the video.

It’s not too late to support IFI’s goals for next year. Our work to protect your religious liberty and family values is not possible without generous contributions from our faithful members. Click here to donate.

We’d like to extend a special thanks to our Hoosier Leadership Series sponsors and sponsors of this year’s Fall Dinner: The Heritage Foundation, B23 Strategies, Vertical Immersive, Americans for Prosperity, Adler Law Firm, Ash and Oak, and Samaritan Ministries.

Thank you to everyone who attended the dinner and made it such a great success!

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Never miss an election again – Take the Pledge to Pray, Vote and Engage!

9/19/24

Christians are called to be salt and light in our culture, but the American church has grown apathetic in the stewardship of our rights and liberties. Presently, there is relatively little difference between the voting patterns of people who call themselves Christians and the public at large. This should not be! If Christians retreat from the call to be involved in our culture, our nation will continue to stray away from God’s timeless truths and principles. How do we combat that? We Pray, Vote, and Engage!

IFI is proud to partner with Christians Engaged this election season. Christians Engaged exists to awaken, educate, and empower believers in Jesus Christ to:

• PRAY for our nation and elected officials regularly
• VOTE in every local, state, and national election to impact our culture
• ENGAGE our hearts in civic education or involvement for the well-being of our local communities and our nation

Christians Engaged also offers Strategic Ministry Partnerships for churches and other ministries. We’d love to talk to your local church about getting involved in this program to help spread the word about voting through a biblical worldview. You can overview details about the strategic ministry partnership below: 

“What does America need in this hour? America needs your heart and participation. If every Christian in this nation would walk with God and carry His heart and the gospel into their local communities and their states – our nation would be transformed. We are the answer to every ill in our society,” Christians Engaged Founder & President Bunni Pounds shared.

We’re excited about this partnership with Christians Engaged because we wholeheartedly believe in their mission. Christians need to stand up and be the salt and light in this world, especially during election season. We hope you’ll consider taking the pledge to PRAY, VOTE, and ENGAGE today!

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Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Fall Dinner on Monday! The evening was a great success and we enjoyed hosting you. We also greatly appreciate all of our sponsors who helped make the evening possible:

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Six days until IFI’s Fall Dinner!

9/10/24

We are less than one week away from our Fall Dinner featuring Riley Gaines! If you registered to attend, the details are below.

The address for the venue is: IMMI Conference Center, 18880 N. East Street, Westfield, IN 46074.

If you are a Diamond sponsor, your private meeting with Riley Gaines begins at 4:30 p.m. The VIP reception with Riley Gaines begins at 5 p.m. for Silver, Gold, and Diamond sponsors. For everyone else, the Dinner begins at 6:00 p.m., but please arrive early as we will have a full house. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. The dress code is business casual.

This event is sold out and we have guests on stand by in case a seat opens up. If you are no longer able to attend, please email event coordinator Rachel Brandli (rachel@hoosierfamily.org) as soon as possible.

We look forward to seeing you there!

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Dinner Update: Pro-Family Legislators in Attendance

9/3/24

We are less than two weeks away from our annual Fall Dinner on September 16th, and the event is almost sold out! If you haven’t already secured your tickets to join us for this exciting event, now is the time to do so.

So far, over 15 legislators have registered to attend, including: Rep. Tim O’Brien, Rep. Michelle Davis, Rep. Ben Smaltz, Rep. Peggy Mayfield, Rep. Lori Goss-Reaves, Rep. Donna Schaibley, Rep. Ryan Lauer, Rep. Joanna King, Rep. Karen Engleman, Rep. JD Prescott, Rep. Doug Miller, Rep. Chris Jeter, Sen. Spencer Deery, Sen. Mike Young, Sen. Mike Gaskill, and Sen. Gary Byrne.

We are incredibly excited to honor these men and women for their hard work and commitment to conservative values. Please join us in commending these legislators for protecting faith, family, and freedom in our state!

The highlight of the evening will be the keynote address from athlete and activist Riley Gaines, who rose to fame after tying with a biological male in the NCAA freestyle women’s championship in 2022. Since then, she has been a vocal advocate for protecting girls’ and women’s sports from the transgender movement. Riley and IFI share the same view: there is no place for men in women’s sports!

The topic of women’s sports feels especially pertinent in our state, as Indianapolis is the home of the NCAA. Indiana already has a law in place protecting girls’ sports, but that provision only applies to K-12 public schools. We are hopeful that in the coming years, we can extend that protection to public universities and deal a blow to the NCAA. It’s time these organizations are held accountable for putting female athletes at risk and ruining the fairness of their competitions.

We are looking forward to hearing from Riley about her experience with the NCAA and her thoughts on how we can protect women’s sports in our state. 

This event would not be what it is without our generous sponsors, listed below:

We are also grateful for our Hoosier Leadership Series sponsors: The Heritage Foundation, B23 Strategies, Vertical Immersive, Americans for Prosperity, Adler Law Firm, Ash and Oak, and Samaritan Ministries.

Secure your tickets today, before the event sells out! We hope to see you there.

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