Carmel proposes gay rights law in RFRA’s wake

Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard has drafted a new anti-discrimination ordinance in the wake of the continuing fallout over Indiana’s controversial “religious freedom” law.

The City Council will consider the ordinance Aug. 17, though passage seems assured. Six of the seven council members, including Council President Rick Sharp, are sponsoring the measure.

Brainard and Sharp first voiced support for adding the law in Carmel at a mayoral debate April 1 sponsored by The Indianapolis Star.

The ordinance would protect residents from discrimination based on gender identity or expression and sexual orientation as well as race, color, religion, national origin, gender, disability, family or marital status, ancestry, age and veteran status.

“That covers everybody we can think of,” Brainard said.

The measure would apply in Carmel city limits to anyone participating or entering into “businesses, housing, public accommodations, education, employment, contracts, programs, services and amenities.”

The ordinance does not apply to religious worship or clergy engaged in religious duties or acts, nonprofit private clubs organized exclusively for fraternal or religious purposes, and private residences.

The city would fine any person or business who violates the ordinance $500 per day until the discrimination is resolved.

In an exclusive interview with The Star, Brainard said he’s never heard of an issue in Carmel, but he said passing the ordinance simply is the right thing to do.

He said the state legislature should have adopted such protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Hoosiers earlier this year. But absent that, he said he believes passing the local ordinance will assure businesses and people that Carmel is a welcoming place.

“Nobody should be discriminated against,” he said. “Governments are here to protect our basics rights. The ability to go into a business and feel comfortable is a basic right. ... it would be ideal if the state would make it a clear statement of law, if the legislature would make it clear that everyone is going to be treated with respect and equality in Indiana. But absent that, it’s important for a city to do so.”

The mayor’s chief political rival agrees with him on this issue. Sharp, who lost a bid to unseat the mayor in the May Republican primary, said it’s important for Carmel to distinguish itself and set the tone in regard to anti-discrimination, especially after the “turmoil” the passage of the state's religious freedom law caused.

“We want to make sure people understand we are a community that welcomes and embraces diversity and abhors discrimination,” Sharp said.

Carmel isn’t the first community to consider such a proposal this year. Several communities already have passed such measures and Indianapolis has had one for about a decade. Like Carmel, Noblesville and Fishers are considering adding such measures.

But passing such ordinances hasn’t necessarily proven easy. Earlier this month, conservative lobbyists traveled to Goshen and Elkhart and successfully stopped similar ordinances from passing.

Brainard, who is from Elkhart, does not think outside pressure will prevent the ordinance from passing in Carmel.

He believes the vast majority of people and businesses in Carmel support adding the human rights law.

“I don’t know many people from Indiana that would want to treat people badly because of their personal beliefs,” he said.

Still, the measure does not enjoy unanimous support.

Councilman Eric Seidensticker is not sponsoring the ordinance, but hasn’t decided whether or not he will vote for it. He said he believes the ordinance is more about scoring political points than protecting human rights.

He said he’s against discrimination, but wonders whether it’s the government’s place to interfere with business decisions. He also said he doesn’t see a problem with discrimination in Carmel at this point.

“They are fully within their right to be stupid,” he said of business owners who might refuse service to a gay couple. “It’s important we make the changes at home and raise our children differently.”

He said government can’t legislate morality.

The council likely will send the ordinance to a committee on Aug. 17 for further discussion.

Call Star reporter Chris Sikich at (317) 444-6036. Follow him on Twitter: @ChrisSikichand at Facebook/chris.sikich.

MAYOR’S STATEMENT

Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard released this statement upon filing the city’s anti-discrimination law.

“The people of Carmel, indeed the people of Indiana, have always been warm, welcoming and friendly to all, both friends and strangers. The term Hoosier Hospitality comes to mind. And while we should all respect the religious beliefs of our fellow citizens – whether they be Jews, Catholics, Christians, Mormons, Muslims, Hindu’s, Atheists, Agnositcs, or one of many other faiths and beliefs – I feel it is important that we recognize there is a distinct difference between how we worship our God in our churches, our homes and our hearts versus how we live, play and conduct business in the melting pot of mixed faiths and passions that we call America. “Many of the world’s traditional faiths teach and believe the following: Men and women from all walks of life must be treated with respect, compassion and kindness and every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. It is time that we stop trying to define each other by the variety of labels society has created. It is far past the time that we look past the colors of our skin, the appearance of our bodies and the choices we make in the privacy of our own lives. It is time we see each other as human beings first and foremost.