Taya Flores

tflores@jconline.com

State Sen. Ron Alting told a group of local leaders Saturday the best way to gain traction on pending LGBT civil rights legislation is to table gender identity protections — for now.

"It is such an area that many people feel so uncomfortable about. ..." he said. "For most Hoosiers and most people in Lafayette, the first involvement they've ever had with even knowing what a transgender sex is was Bruce Jenner. ... It's a new thing."

Alting, a Lafayette Republican, and Rep. Sheila Klinker, a Lafayette Democrat, met with about 16 civil rights leaders and representatives from the LGBT community during a joint human relations commission meeting held at the Best Western hotel in Lafayette.

They discussed a variety of bills that would impact LGBT community members including Senate bills 100 and 344.

Senate Bill 100, which Markle Republican Sen. Travis Holdman authored, prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and repeals local LGBT anti-discrimination ordinances.

Margy Deverall, a Lafayette city employee who works with LGBT youth, said she does not support the bill as it stands because of its many exemptions.

"Basically, someone who goes to church can call on this bill to discriminate against you," she said.

In comparison, Senate Bill 344, which Holdman and Buck Creek Republican Sen. Brandt Hershman co-authored, lets existing local ordinances stand but bars new ones. It provides protection for sexual orientation but not gender identity.

Instead, it calls for a committee to study gender identity discrimination and report back for legislative action in 2017.

Alting authored Senate Bill 170, which would add both sexual orientation and gender identity to the state's civil rights laws.

"It's way overdue not to put that in the state (law)," he said. "I'm tired of saying that Indiana is a welcoming state and we open our arms to you. ... Let's prove it. Let's put something on the books that is tangible."

But other state legislators and the general public might not be ready for it, which is why Senate Bill 344 has a better chance of getting passed, he said.

Charlie Shook, a member of the West Lafayette Human Relations Commission, said compromise and patience will be needed going forward.

"This is going to take longer than we thought," he said.