Nashville Human Rights Commission – For the Record

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Updated: Sep 11, 2022  

Sep 11, 2022.  Although The World Works To Redefine Human Rights, No Legal Ruling Changes Biblical Truth, By Answers In Genesis  

    •  “In all manmade worldviews—which is everything but biblical Christianity—humans are ultimately attempting to construct and define human rights. If human rights originate from man, they can be added to, subtracted from, modified, revoked, or selectively applied by man. Old rights can be withdrawn to coerce and control people. New rights can be easily invented to push an agenda.”  

Aug 20, 2022. Town council approves human rights commission, hears more comments from public.

    • The council voted 3-2 in favor of a second reading. A motion was then made to adopt the ordinance, passing with the same votes.  Council President Nancy Crocker, Vice President Anna Hofstetter and councilmember Tyra Miller all voted in favor of the commission. Council members Jane Gore and David Rudd opposed both the second reading and the adoption.

    • Brown County Matters – Facebook post of the article and comments

Aug 18, 2022. Nashville Town Council Meeting.  – Human Rights Ordinance passed.

Aug 16, 2022. Human Rights Commission ordinance gets 2nd reading this week By  Abigail Youmans

Follow Up (email) – July 21 Meeting – Request for Information – Town Council

Nashville Town Council Meeting Notes, July 21, 2022, 6:30 p.m. On the topic of the proposed Human Rights Commission Ordinance, the public was misled by the Town Council.  As advertised, the council did not vote on a final version of the ordinance. The council voted on the first reading of a revised ordinance (Revised July 7, 2022).   The public was not notified in advance or at the beginning of the meeting of the opportunity to comment on the revised ordinance.  This version of the ordinance was shared at the July 7, 2022 council roundtable discussion (not an official meeting) but was not available on their website prior to that meeting. (Facebook Post at Brown County Matters)

    • At the beginning of the council meeting, President Crocker thanked everyone for their input on the ordinance. She stated that the council would be voting on a “reading of the final version of the ordinance but not a vote .”  This was not an accurate statement. They did not vote on a “final version.”  She went on to suggest that those attending just on the issue of the vote may not be interested in remaining.  
    • On agenda item 6b, “Consider Ordinance 2022-03 Human Rights Commission Ordinance”,  President Crocker stated that the original ordinance “was revised quite a bit and they were kind of  going back to square one.” The town attorney advised that a “first reading” of the revised ordinance  (revised July 7, 2022) was required. 
    • Anna Hoffstetter made a motion to suspend the rules for a second reading so that the ordinance could be passed immediately. Her motion was not approved.   
    • The council without any discussion on the comments, questions, and concerns provided by the public, voted to approve – the only no vote was from Dave Rudd.
    • Nashville+Town+Council+Agenda+7-21-2022
    • Audio. Discussion on the first reading – revised ordinance at the 1:37 mark. 
    •  I suggest that the council send this draft back to a committee. The recommendation by the committee to create a commission was based on opinions and anecdotes. The public has provided sufficient information verbally and in writing to reinforce the need for a more thorough review of the facts, evidence, and analysis of alternatives. 
    • Placing the issue on the Nov ballot is not an option.

July 21, 2022. Brown County Matters.  Statement – President by the Town Council. My response and counter-responses. “FIY….. A sentence in the Democrat implied we are voting on the Human Rights Commission Ordinance tonight. That is not and never was my intention. The plan was to read the final revised ordinance and then vote next month. The online version of the paper has been corrected.”

    • My Response: Nancy Crocker You inferred at the last meeting that a vote could be taken if a motion was made and seconded and it was also mentioned that the idea could be placed on the ballot in Nov. Link below to the audio of the last meeting and background information on the proposed human rights commission ordinance to include the email addresses of town council members for those wanting to express an opinion.
    • Nancy Crocker  That vote would have to be unanimous to vote on the ordinance.
    • Tim J. Clark to Nancy Crocker Point is that a vote could be taken.

July 21, 2022. Brown County Democrat – Facebook Post. NOTE: An earlier version of this story said the Nashville Town Council will vote on a second reading of the proposed Human Rights Commission. A second reading will be done, but no vote is set to be taken in regards to the commission, council president Nancy Crocker said today. The story has been updated for clarification.

July 21, 2022. Nashville Town Council Meeting  – decision regarding the proposed Human Rights Commission. (Meeting Information).   

Current Version – Ordinance 2022-03 Human+Rights+Commission+Ordinanc- draft presented+at+7-07-2022+Roundtable

Town Council Members:

Nancy Crocker, President  (term 1/01/19 to 12/31/2022).  
Jane Gore, Vice-President (term 1/01/20 to 12/31/2023)
Anna Hofstetter, Council Member (term 1/01/2019 to 12/31/2022)
Tyra Miller, Council Member   (term 1/01/20 to 12/31/2023)
Dave Rudd, Council Member  (term 1/01/2019 to 12/31/2022)

Emails for those wanting to notify all council members with their opinions: 
ncrocker@townofnashville.org; jgore@townofnashville.org; ahofstetter@townofnashville.org; 
tmiller@townofnashville.org; drudd@townofnashville.org

Juy 7, 2022 Nashville Town Hall Meeting Notes and Audio – Proposed HRC Ordinance July 7, 2022

Preface

We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness— Declaration of Independence

In a Biblical worldview, man is imperfect, a sinner. Bigotry represents sinful behavior and sin is an inherent part of human nature.  In alignment with the Constitution, civil rights laws have been created to identify unacceptable actions relative to discrimination, bias, prejudice, and bigotry. These laws are administered by the Federal government and the Indiana Civil Rights Commission (ICRC).

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has defined the distinction between Civil Rights protected by the Constitution and “Human Rights”. “The ACLU Human Rights Program (HRP) is dedicated to holding the United States accountable to international human rights laws and standards as well as the rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.”

 
    • A New Religion?  Are “Human Rights” as “man” defines them independent of a biblical worldview, the new religion of the progressive left? Note that with ‘Rights” there are also “Wrongs.” Who decides what is right and wrong and by what moral authority?
    • Similar to the Constitution, the Bible is being considered by the progressive left as a “living document” that should be interpreted to reflect the current times.  

“The Indiana Civil Rights Commission (ICRC) enforces the civil rights laws of the State of Indiana. We investigate complaints of discrimination and educate organizations, companies, landlords, associations, and individuals on their rights and responsibilities under Indiana Civil Rights Laws. If you feel you have been the victim of discrimination call 1-800-628-2909 or click here to file a complaint electronically.”

Brown County attracts over an estimated 1.5 million visitors a year.   There were “6” race-related complaints in 2020 reported to the Visitors Center; the other complaints were due to accessibility issues.  Three recent race-related incidents were covered in the Brown County Democrat – all three were resolved.  The cause of the fourth incident was due to mental illness. 

Timeline – References, Articles, et.al

July 7, 2022. “Revised” proposed ordinance. This version not available on the town’s website prior to the meeting.  Nashville Draft – 2022_07_07 Human Rights Ordinance

July 7, 2022. Nashville Town Hall Meeting – Human Rights Commission. The Second Reading and vote to approve is scheduled for July 21, 2022.

June 25 Follow-up. The Report – “Nashville Human Rights Advisory Committee Recommendation Document ” and an independent assessment are provided below. Reports from the State are also provided at the end of this post. Reports include the Formal Complaints Statewide and Region 9 Inquiries. 

June 22, 2022. Town council tables human rights commission ordinance discussion for now By Abigail Youmans

    • Brown County Matters – Facebook Post of the Article. Where is the link to the information (and data) provided in the research? Was this documented in a separate report to the council or just derived from anecdotes? Does the “report” include the data available from the state along with an explanation of the process for managing calls and complaints? Does the “report” include the operational definitions for the data?

May 25, 2022. Nashville’s Nancy Crocker on COVID rise, human rights ordinance By Joe Hren

    • Hren: We talked about the human rights ordinance that’s being worked on had one reading. What’s the next step?
    • Crocker: We were going to do a second reading at the last town council meeting. And in the last hour, a couple of groups that had questions and had initially said they were against it, met with some people, another council person and said, you know what, we’ve kind of reconsidered this. And we kind of would like you to just pause a minute for us to kind of get together and talk about it.
    • So we’re really, really hopeful that we can talk to them and help them understand how this is a good thing for our community. So we’ll do hopefully, a second reading at the next meeting. And again, this isn’t an emergency. So we’ll do a second reading in the June meeting and then we’ll have a vote on it then. That’s at least the tentative plan at this point.

May 20, 2022.  Rebuttal – Support for HRC posted at Brown County Chatter by Jeff Foster, Don’t Tread on Indiana (DTOI)

    • At last night’s Town Council meeting, a member of DTOI overheard Nashville IN Town Council president Nancy Crocker state aloud: “The folks who are doing the freedom rallies [Don’t Tread On Indiana] approached us about putting this ordinance together.” She was talking about the human rights ordinance.
    • To be clear, Don’t Tread On Indiana has never contacted any Town Council official advocating in favor of the proposed human rights ordinance. This is because we stand staunchly against it, for reasons that will be elucidated in a future statement.
    • Why the Nashville Town Council president believes and stated aloud in public that DTOI ever encouraged the construction of this unnecessary and potentially counter-productive initiative is beyond our imagination. That’s a question best asked of Nancy Crocker.

The second reading of the draft was scheduled for May 19, 2022. It was postponed.

Brown County Matters Facebook Post of the Meeting. 6:30 PM  9:00 PM. Nashville Town Hall 200 Commercial Street Nashville, IN, 47448. Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83157695453; Meeting ID: 831 5769 5453

Context. The following article distinguishes the difference between tolerance, acceptance, and understanding. Tolerance is a virtue that is a basis for First Amendment protections. Just because you have tolerance for a situation does not mean you accept it. Dialogue can lead to understanding and a higher probability of positive change. Ref:  Feb 25, 2014. Psychology Today, by Jefferson M Fish Ph.D.  Tolerance, Acceptance, Understanding

Terms

WHEREAS the Town of Nashville recognizes the need for a Human Rights Commission to address issues of bias, discrimination, and prejudice in the community, which has been documented by comments and complaints in the community,by personal testimony, and by reported cases.
NOTE: This paragraph was deleted in the current version (July 7, 2022) of the proposed ordinance.  The so-called documentation is based on hearsay, anecdotes, and unsupported allegations.

Bigotry is another term linked to Bias, Discrimination, and Prejudice and could include just about anything.  What human being is free from bigotry?  What would be the criteria for accepting and processing complaints?   Categories could include age, gender, appearance, race, culture, heritage, and politics.

    • Bias.  a personal and sometimes unreasoned judgment 
    • Discrimination. unfair treatment of a person or group on the basis of prejudice;
    • The definition of prejudice includes “harm caused by the adverse preconceptions of others.”   Webster’s New World College Dictionary includes a description that: “
      • The definition of bigotry is prejudice and the state of being intolerant” and
      • a bigot  is a person who is prejudiced, or intolerant of those who are different.” 

 Reference: OneLook Dictionary

May 16, 2022. Post of the Meeting Announcement at Brown County Matters with questions and comments. Based on feedback, the 2nd reading of the ordinance was moved to next month. Minor changes were made to the ordinance.

Report Extracts:  Nashville Human Rights Advisory Committee Recommendation Document 

    • The Indiana Civil Rights Commission Annual Report (2020) shows that:
      • 8,581 calls/reports were made to the ICRC State office; 
      • 784 were drafted into complaints;
      • 282 were from Region 9 which includes Brown County
    • The historical record of bias, discrimination and need has been demonstrated by:
      • a. Well-documented cases that have been reported in The Democrat 
      • b. Comments and complaints lodged at the Visitors Center
      • c. Personal testimony by shop owners, students and delivery drivers
      • d. The 100+ people who participated in the Nashville Solidarity Rally

Independent Assessment – Information provided by the state, BC Democrat, Visitors Center

  1.  The 8,581 calls to the Indiana Civil Rights Commission is statewide and includes the total number of times their phone rang (calls). The actual number of inquiries statewide was 2,082. 
  2. Region 9 consists of 16 counties. Of the 282, “calls”, there were 194 “inquiries.”  

  3. The ICRC does not track the region of formalized complaints. Once the complaint is formalized, they only track the protected classes.

  4. The Visitors Center had 6 total complaints in 2020 regarding race…all others were due to accessibility issues. Complaints are given to the respective store owners.   

  5. “Personal testimony by shop owners, students and delivery drivers.”  Anecdotal.
  6. Rally.  Total attendance was estimated at around 100. Does this include law enforcement and security personnel?  Were any reports submitted by attendees?
  7. Reports in the Democrat. There were two (2) associated with the school (blackface and yearbook) and one (1) with the local GOP.  These were ALL resolved. No laws were broken and no charges were filed.

May 5, 2022.  Human rights commission closer to forming, second reading set for this month by Abigail Youmans, BCD

    • The Indiana Civil Rights Commission Annual Report of 2020 showed that 8,581 reports were made to the state office. Of those reports, 784 were drafted into complaints and of those complaints, 282 were from Region 9, which includes Brown County.
    • Should an individual face discrimination, they have the ability to inform the Human Rights Commission, who will then direct the individual to appropriate resources provided by the state.
    • The committee stated in their recommendation a record of “bias and discrimination” has been documented by the newspaper and by comments and complaints taken at the Visitors Center along with personal testimony by shop owners, students and delivery drivers. A need was also documented based on comments taken from more than 100 people who participated in the Nashville Solidarity Rally in 2020.

    • Potorti said in November that the town has few — if any — reliable or consistent ways to report or evaluate the quality and treatment of its citizens and visitors. … He said that precedence is already being established locally, like in the Brown County School Corporation which created a district Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee of staff members in 2019.

Feb 3, 2022. Town council continues talks of human rights commission, role in county by Abigail Youmans – February 3, 2022. Nashville Town Council may soon have a partner in establishing a countywide Human Rights Commission.

Nov 30, 2021. Human Rights Committee presents findings: Group calls for creation of official town commission to…Abigail Youmans. The Nashville Human Rights Committee has worked for the past nine months to evaluate the need for a town human rights commission. The committee presented its findings to the Nashville Town Council on Nov. 18 and stated that what they discovered showed there is a need for that type of commission locally.

    • Is there a published report available? Curious about the methodology used to collect the data. Too often, anecdotal information is incorrectly used to determine conclusions and identify “solutions.”   Post of the article at Brown County Matters

Jan 27, 2021. Town council OKs human rights advisory committee. The Nashville Town Council is accepting applications through Feb. 17 to form a group of five people to study “the need, function, structure and scope of a Human Rights Commission.”

The council voted 4-1 last week to form a temporary citizens advisory committee on this topic, which will report to the town council after a three-month period with its findings.

Reports provided by the State

The Indiana Civil Rights Commission (ICRC) enforces the civil rights laws of the State of Indiana. We investigate complaints of discrimination and educate organizations, companies, landlords, associations, and individuals on their rights and responsibilities under Indiana Civil Rights Laws. If you feel you have been the victim of discrimination call 1-800-628-2909 or click here to file a complaint electronically.

HRC State Formalized Complaints

HRC State Inquiries by Region

 

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