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A proposal to ban Indianapolis and more than 100 other Indiana cities from ever changing their names has been approved by the state Senate.
Republican Sen. Jack Sandlin of Indianapolis said he sponsored the bill to prevent any movement toward renaming Indianapolis because it includes the word Indian following Native American protests that have led to the renaming of professional sports teams.
Senators voted 36-11 largely along party lines Tuesday to advance the proposal to the House for consideration. The bill would prohibit the four cities named in the state constitution— Indianapolis, Clarksville, Vincennes and Evansville—and some 140 cities referenced in state laws from name changes.
The bill comes even though no efforts have emerged seeking to change the name of Indiana or Indianapolis.
Democratic Sen. Greg Taylor of Indianapolis opposed the bill, saying it was a waste of the Legislature’s time by prohibiting something that “never, ever would have happened.”
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LOL! so glad they’re spending their time on such important bills…………………..
Wow, how wonderful the members of the General Assembly of Stupidity are spending their time as elected officials addressing this pressing issue!
A fake controversy about non-existent attempts to rename Indianapolis is obviously the most important concern of everyday Hoosiers.
No wonder the public has such a high level of trust in government and respect for elected officials.
If it’s so stupid, why did Democrats vote party line against it?
Maybe they don’t want their names associated with passage of such a stupid piece of legislation. I look forward to how Sandlin’s bill that puts the governor in charge of IMPD goes… Sandlin should run for mayor of Indianapolis …
What’s really frustrating is living in the part of Indianapolis that has Jack Sandlin and John Jacob as elected officials. When you vote on the party not the candidate, you end up with wastes of tax dollars for legislators…
Chucky, you are proving my point. Democrats voted against it because it is an idiotic waste of time; the General Assembly has real issues it should be focused on and spending legislative time on this nonsense undermines the public’s respect for government and faith in its elected representatives. The bigger question to ask is aren’t you embarrassed to even make a half-hearted attempt to defend this sort of BS??
Jack Sandlin shouldn’t be a manager at a 7/11, much less mayor of Indianapolis. Democrats will have a mayor of Carmel long before you see another Republican as Mayor of Indianapolis. The Republican Party on the northside of Indianapolis (where 2/3 of the population lives) has pretty much been wiped out completely.
Your Indiana State Senate, ladies and gentlemen. Not afraid to tackle the important issues….
Incredible. Small businesses are hurting, storefronts are empty, our earth is heating up and this is how they spend their time?
There may be no such movement today, but would anyone have believed a year ago that people would tear down statues of Washington, Lincoln or Jefferson? And if this bill is such a waste of time, why did every democrat vote against it? That tells me that the Dem caucus leader took the trouble to take a position against it and whip their members to vote against it. Why go to all that trouble for a waste of time? Or, we could just be proactive and start calling it Nativeamericanapolis.
Amen, Keith. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and all that. (C’mon, liberals, tell us why all the Dems voted against it.)
So politicians should vote for bills that are a waste of time … why?
If the City County Council was smart, they’d start the effort to rename Indianapolis to Sandlinville tomorrow in honor of Jack…
Aren’t you embarrassed to even make an attempt to defend these clowns wasting taxpayer time and money on this sort of nonsense when there are REAL issues the General Assembly should be focused on?
And, guess what? If the day comes the people of Indianapolis or any other city or town wish to rename their city, then it should be a choice left up to them and elected local officials, not the General Assembly.
Hopefully, voters are taking notice of this sort of political grandstanding and offensive waste of resources by these foolish hayseed Republican legislators and they vote every single one of them out of office and out on their sorry behinds next election.
Once again vying for the title of “America’s Worst State Legislature”… between these two Sandlin bills and the bills to name an official state (fill in the blank).
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This is what a supermajority gets you: super dumb laws, just because they can.
Again, with that “worst legislature” nonsense, Chris B. If you think Indiana has the worst legislature, you don’t know much about all the rest.
Paul O, how many recent Indiana laws has the Attorney General of the state had to defend in court, and at what cost?
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I think at last count, We the People have paid the ACLU and other organizations millions of taxpayer dollars to cover their legal fees challenging unconstitutional laws.
Indiana is so ignorant
Ah yes, Indiana Republicans wasting time on BS like this. Every year, the legislature gets more radically right and more intrusive.
Did the state legislature name all the cities and towns in Indiana? No? Then, why would they need to prevent them from ever changing their names?
“Small government.” “Government is best at the local level.” Will they enact similar legislation should Gas City or Roachdale want to change their names? At the very, very least they could have made this legislation the same for the entire state. And the GOP wonders why it is not gaining people in the under 40 set.
Once again, the State GOP proves they’re entirely ignorant to the concept of Home Rule – unless the GOP is in charge of the town.