We normally don’t report on anything to do with politics on DDO Players, but this is making some waves in the gaming community, so I thought I should report on this.
Gen Con LLC, the parent company the Gen Con hobby games convention, has issued a formal letter to Republican Governor Mike Pence in light of the passage of State Bill 101. This bill would offer legal protection under which Indiana business owners could refuse service to same-sex couples.
Gen Con LLC’s CEO and owner, Adrian Swartout, said in a letter made public today that passage of the bill
“will factor into our decision-making on hosting the convention in the state of Indiana in future years.”
Gen con, means a lot to the Indiana and Indianapolis, currently Indianapolis Convention Center’s largest annual convention, bringing the city tens of millions of dollars in revenue. It regularly creates in excess of $50 million in revenue for the city of Indianapolis.
“Last year, Gen Con hosted more than 56,000 attendees from more than 40 different countries and all 50 states,”
“Gen Con proudly welcomes a diverse attendee base, made up of different ethnicities, cultures, beliefs, sexual orientations, gender identities, abilities, and socio-economic backgrounds. We are happy to provide an environment that welcomes all, and the wide-ranging diversity of our attendees has become a key element to the success and growth of our convention.
“Legislation that could allow for refusal of service or discrimination against our attendees will have a direct negative impact on the state’s economy.”
I have attended Gen con for many years, and love the convention and I love the fact it’s held in Indy which is only a 2 1/2 drive for me. I am covering this years convention for the site as well.
Time will tell how this will play out.
Thanks for posting this in a space to speak about the atrocity of a law that Indiana has introduced. It is a true embarrassment to the US. If GenCon finds no means to break the contract, and the law stays in effect, I hope many of you will do the right thing and not attend. If Turbine, Warner Bros, does decide to attend and the law is still in place , I for one will be questioning my continued support for them as well.
Fascism has no place in the US.
Does anyone really care other than same sex couples? Which rights are more important, the rights of the same sex couple, or the rights of the business owner to serve who he or she wants to. Either way you’re stepping on someones rights. The same sex couple has the option of going somewhere else, the business owner can’t do that.