Stephanie Wang

stephanie.wang@indystar.com

On Indiana's most divisive social issue, the two sides at odds say there is no middle ground. But in emotional pleas to lawmakers Tuesday, they struck a common note in their stories of parents heavy with worry for their children.

A mother worries about the well-being and fair treatment of her transgender son. A father worries about the safety of his daughter in bathrooms at school.

What came out in testimony at Tuesday's study committee on civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Hoosiers was deeply personal — the very reason why the issue cleaves such unbridgeable divides.

But no compromise, lawmakers warned, means nobody wins.

Republican Sen. Travis Holdman of Markle said he was "somewhat disappointed" that neither side sought to move toward agreement, even when they knew that not budging would likely lock up possible legislation.

He heard nothing new on the issue, he said. Last year, he authored a controversial proposal to add sexual orientation as a protected class in state civil rights law, with certain religious exemptions.

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Holdman also puzzled over the fixation on the "bathroom issue" — whether transgender people should be permitted to use public bathrooms based on gender identity rather than biological sex. His proposal last year did not include discrimination protections for transgender people.

"I'm not sure that that is an issue, because transgender folks are using the bathrooms of their choice currently, and I don't know that that has become an issue," Holdman said.

Committee chair Rep. Greg Steuerwald, R-Avon, indicated that he was wary of making legislative recommendations at the state level on a "very touchy" issue that's tangled up in federal courts.

A federal judge recently overturned the Obama administration's guidance for school districts on allowing transgender students to use the bathroom facilities corresponding with their gender identity. The issue seems likely to be taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court.

"We need to be aware of that and see how those cases are making progress," Steuerwald said.

About 50 people squeezed into the small committee room in the Statehouse, some rallied by LGBT advocacy group Freedom Indiana and others by religious conservative advocacy groups headed by Eric Miller, Micah Clark and Monica Boyer.

Those for LGBT rights made their case first. Jeff Bower introduced himself as an Episcopal priest, a native Hoosier, a dog lover and a piano player.

"If it matters," he added, "I am also gay."

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"I began with a litany about who I am, in the hope that you would not focus all your attention on my orientation when there is so much more that I have to offer," Bower went on. "Like you, I am a child of God."

Statewide law, advocates say, should make it illegal to deny housing, jobs or service in a business to people solely because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Opponents of LGBT rights said last year that such a law would interfere with their right to live by their faith by forcing them to condone same-sex marriages. But that wasn't part of the argument Tuesday — instead, they homed in on bathrooms.

LGBT rights advocates say transgender people have long been using public bathrooms without problems.

"Transgender people just want to use the bathroom like anyone else," said Korvin Bothwell, a transgender man. "I've been using public bathrooms all my life, and nothing has happened."

"I'm not looking for total acceptance," said Tara Biddinger, a transgender woman. "I'm looking for respect as a fellow human being."

But some opponents worry that sexual predators will make false claims about their gender identity to gain access to women's restrooms in order to assault women and children. If schools allow students to use bathrooms and locker rooms based on their gender identity, some opponents say, that will take away parents' rights to ensure the safety and comfort of their children, who will be exposed to those who are biologically the opposite sex.

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A woman wrote a letter to lawmakers about her exchange student fleeing a bathroom after seeing a high school boy walk in.

"The boy’s intentions could have been malicious," said Lynn Howie, reading the letter from Lorissa Sweet. "He could’ve been there to harass, or videotape unsuspecting women — or he could’ve been in there because Obama said he could."

As a Christian, Janet Smith said, "my rights and my privileges are not protected, and are being eroded every day."

"Why should a certain group of people, who are 3 percent of the population, get special privileges and be a protected class," she asked, "when the other 97 percent of us have to kowtow and do everything they tell us to do? Once they get one thing, then they want another."

Lawmakers only heard comments and didn't debate the issue. But, at the end of the meeting, Rep. Linda Lawson, D-Hammond, said, "I didn't come here today to talk about bathroom facilities."

She said the focus instead should be on discrimination, "regardless of if there's five people, or 26 people, or 26 million."

"These three women and two African-American men," Lawson said, gesturing to the lawmakers and officials on the committee, "have been discriminated against in their life just because of their gender, or their race, and it's absolutely wrong."

Lawson added: "Things have changed. Our world has changed. ... We will never go back."

The Interim Study Committee on Courts and the Judiciary will meet again at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 22. It's unclear, however, whether the civil rights issue will be on the agenda.

Call IndyStar reporter Stephanie Wang at (317) 444-6184. Follow her on Twitter: @stephaniewang.

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