Protesters plan to gather outside the Star Barn Village on Thursday to demonstrate against its policy prohibiting same-sex weddings at its venue.

The demonstration, which also is targeting Discover Lancaster over its decision to hold its annual partner meeting at the Elizabethtown venue, is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.

Doors for the annual meeting open at 11:30 a.m. The meeting begins at noon.

Discover Lancaster is the main tourism organization in Lancaster County.

“Any beliefs that are in direct opposition to our constitutionally-protected right to the free exercise of our religion we cannot be a participant of on the property,” Star Barn owner David Abel said in a recent email to LNP.

He did not immediately return a phone message for comment Tuesday.

Discover Lancaster partner Erica Millner and a friend came up with the idea for the protest. They reached out to Lancaster Stands Up, which organized it.

Millner, who co-owns Mio Studio in Lancaster city with her wife, requested that Discover Lancaster move its event to another venue when she learned of the Star Barn Village’s stance on marriage.

On March 20, she received an email from Discover Lancaster Interim President Maria-Jose Tennison informing her that the venue would not be changed.

In a phone call Tuesday, Millner said she and her friend Karen Foley came up with the idea of a protest to make their opposition more than just online outrage.

“We want to show that it’s not just an outside event on the air or over the internet,” Millner said. “It’s actually people who are their neighbors.”

Announcement of the demonstration comes days after several of Discover Lancaster’s partner businesses said they would skip the event because of the Star Barn Village’s stance on same-sex marriage.

“None of these actions (on venue selection) are intended to make a social or political statement in any way,” Discover Lancaster said in a statement last week. “We regret if our choice of the Star Barn for this event has inadvertently caused pain or misunderstanding within any element of our tourism community or beyond.”

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A spokesman with Discover Lancaster did not immediately return a phone call and email seeking comment Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Lancaster County Commissioner Craig Lehman released a copy of a letter he sent to Discover Lancaster board members the day before in which stated he would no longer attend the annual meeting citing the Star Barn’s “discriminatory business practice.”

Posted on Facebook, Lehman’s letter states that Lancaster County “may be at risk of damaging its image as a welcoming community and be viewed as one that is intolerant.

“If this occurs, Discover Lancaster will have violated its core mission and potentially weaken the Lancaster brand,” he wrote.

Lancaster County commissioners Dennis Stuckey and Josh Parsons did not immediately respond to a phone call seeking comment Tuesday evening.

Awareness on LGBT protections

Thursday’s demonstration also aims to raise awareness about a lack of protections to individuals in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities in state law, according to Foley.

She pointed out that there is no statewide legislation protecting the LGBT community.

“This demonstration is to amplify the need to have statewide legislation passed," Foley said Tuesday. “We should only support organizations that serve all.”

The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act protects against discrimination on the condition of race, religious creed, disabilities and sex, but does not specifically state sexual orientation or gender identity.

However, the state Human Relations Commission released new guidance last fall to define the term “sex” under the Human Relations Act to include the LGBT community.

Millner said she isn’t sure how many people will attend the demonstration, but she said it would be “a missed opportunity if we weren’t going to do it.”