Religious groups, LGBT advocates rally at Statehouse

On the ceremonial first day of the Indiana General Assembly, Hoosiers flooded the Statehouse to voice their concerns on what's expected to be the 2016 session's most controversial issue: adding sexual orientation and gender identity to statewide civil rights law.

​On one side, hundreds of voices with religious groups lifted hymns and the Our Father prayer Tuesday throughout the halls of the Statehouse. On the other, they chanted, “Spread love, not hate. Hoosiers don’t discriminate.”

Led by the Indiana Pastors Alliance, religious organizations brought in hundreds of supporters wearing green – with the number peaking at times at more than a thousand – from across the state to demonstrate their Christian faith.

“We are not here because we are anti anything. We are here because we are pro something. We are pro religious freedom,” said Timothy Morbitzer, pastor of Victory Christian Fellowship in North Manchester.

Those supporters oppose the extension of civil rights to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, saying protecting sexuality at the same level as race and religion would force Christians to go against their faiths. Protecting gay rights, the group says, would enshrine what they consider sinful behavior.

The government would be “enforcing truths that are not what I believe,” said Josh Boss, 29, a member of Living Stones Church in Crown Point. “It’s not that we want to force our truths onto others. We want to be able to tell our truth to others without being chastised for it.”

But on the other side, proponents of LGBT protections with the grassroots group Freedom Indiana evoked some of the same Christian messages.

“Jesus isn’t exclusively theirs,” said Buffy Adams, 43, of Crown Point, holding a “Jesus loves!!” sign. “It’s time we start taking his love back.”

About 100 supporters gathered wearing red and dropped off more than 5,000 letters to lawmakers. Freedom Indiana wants to make sexual orientation and gender identity into protected classes under the law, to ban discrimination against LGBT Hoosiers in the areas of employment, housing and public accommodations.

They say all Hoosiers deserve equal protections.

“You are who you are because a loving God created you,” said Bob Shaw, 68, a retired Indianapolis minister in the Disciples of Christ and the United Church of Christ.

Amid the dueling rallies, poll results released Tuesday indicate a majority of Hoosier voters still support adding protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity into the state’s civil rights law.

The poll was commissioned by former Angie’s List chief Bill Oesterle, who formed a group called Tech for Equality to advocate for an expansion of protections for gay and transgender Hoosiers. A poll he sponsored in June showed similar results.

“This consistency indicates stability of opinion, with intensity definitely on the side of those who support this change,” said Republican pollster Christine Matthews, who conducted the poll.

Some 55 percent of Hoosier voters said they support expanding the state’s anti-discrimination laws, with 33 percent indicating they would oppose the policy change.

About 46 percent of likely Republican primary voters said businesses should not be allowed to refuse services to gays and lesbians. The poll found voters under the age of 35 felt more strongly for LGBT protections. Seven out of 10 of those voters responded that businesses should be barred from denying services.

The poll also found 47 percent of voters would be more likely to support a gubernatorial candidate who backed the expanded protections. That represents an increase from June when 45 percent of voters offered the same response.

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