LGBT debate: 'Hopeful but not too optimistic'

Indiana lawmakers and advocates are again preparing to take up the tug-of-war game over civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Hoosiers.

A special panel of lawmakers convenes Tuesday morning to study the issue and hear testimony, in order to submit recommendations for the 2017 legislative session.

But, after last session's attempt at seeking compromise between LGBT rights and religious rights ended in standstill, hopes for passing statewide legal protections for LGBT Hoosiers seem to remain tempered.

"I'm hopeful but not too optimistic that we'll get some resolution to this coming out of the committee hearing," said Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, the panel's co-chair and author of last session's civil rights bill.

Neither religious conservatives nor LGBT advocates have budged from their stances, he said, making compromise appear unlikely.

"If we could have an honest discussion and a real vote doing something positive, I, for one, would be interested in that," said Rep. Ed DeLaney, D-Indianapolis, who is also on the panel. "But I'm not interested in teeing up a controversy that gets us nowhere and causes more damage to the state. That's the dilemma."

November's gubernatorial election and swirling national battles over LGBT issues could also complicate the debate. And much of the attention in the upcoming legislative session will center on crafting the biennial budget.

"We fully recognize this might be a longer-term play," said Indy Chamber lobbyist Mark Fisher, "and we need to really focus on educating the legislature and the general public on these issues."

The chamber and advocacy group Freedom Indiana say they are focusing on familiarizing people with the discrimination that gay and transgender Hoosiers can face, in addition to helping municipalities develop local ordinances to ban discrimination against LGBT people.

Indy Chamber is among the business interests that have pushed for the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes in state civil rights code. Those business interests argue that it's an economic imperative to instate unequivocal protections for LGBT people, to make the state a welcoming environment for attracting and retaining new businesses and workers.

But some religious conservatives contend there's no evidence that such laws boost the economy. They argue that gay Hoosiers have become more accepted with the recognition of same-sex marriage, while people of faith face increasing hostilities.

Micah Clark, executive director of the American Family Association of Indiana, said next week's study committee "might just be a dog and pony show to appease people."

"I'm not sure this is something the legislature wants to pick up again, given the huge battle last time," Clark said. "I don't think there's middle ground on this issue."

Why Indiana lawmakers killed the gay rights debate for this year

Last session, the Indiana Senate halted a debate over extending civil rights protections to gay Hoosiers in housing, employment and public accommodations, with certain religious exemptions. Protections for transgender people were not included in the proposal.

The debate was notably led by Republicans, after the sharp backlash over Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act. A power play by religious conservatives who were losing ground in the same-sex marriage debate, the signing of RFRA appeared to some as an allowance for religious believers to discriminate against LGBT people.

But the General Assembly's Republican supermajority stymied legislative proposals on gay rights. Republican Gov. Mike Pence condemned discrimination of any kind but expressed reluctance on the issue, siding with safeguarding religious liberties.

With Pence running as the vice presidential nominee for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, the governor's seat is up for grabs.

Democratic candidate for governor John Gregg has called LGBT rights a priority of his economic development platform. He promised to sign an executive order on his first day in office to protect LGBT state workers and contractors against discrimination. Gregg said he would work with the legislature to repeal RFRA and include sexual orientation and gender identity in the state civil rights code without additional religious carve-outs.

Lt. Gov. Eric Holcomb, the Republican candidate, is seen as aligning more closely with Pence, who handpicked him to be his second-in-command and ballot replacement.

"I believe we must balance religious liberties, of which certain ones are guaranteed in our state Constitution, with a zero tolerance policy for discrimination," Holcomb said in an emailed statement. "To that end, I look forward to hearing what the study committee finds while recognizing the necessity to respect and balance both interests."

Nationally, the issue of transgender access to bathrooms continues to play out in government and in the courts. Last week, a federal judge in Texas blocked the Obama administration's directive to school districts to allow transgender students to choose which restrooms and locker rooms to use.

Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne political scientist Andy Downs said the study committee on civil rights provides an opportunity for "a more reasoned, a more informed discussion" with less pressure from the time restraints of the legislative session.

But lawmakers still may not agree on legislative recommendations. And, he added, some advocates may try to seize the opportunity to pivot the conversation from LGBT rights to additional religious freedom protections.

The Interim Study Committee on Courts and the Judiciary meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday in Room 404 of the Statehouse, 200 W. Washington St.

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