Thousands in Indy protest 'religious freedom' law

When Annette Gross made plans for a rally in Indianapolis against the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, she had only hoped for 100 people to show up.

"I'm a superstitious person," said the Carmel mom, who started a Facebook page about the rally only a few days earlier. "I don't like to say we're going to do this or that. But we got 'em."

Instead, several thousand attended the rally. Gross, an advocate for the LGBT community, couldn't believe her eyes when she looked out onto the crowd in Downtown Indianapolis on Saturday.

The number of protesters quickly grew as the crowd marched from Monument Circle to the Indiana Statehouse to express their displeasure with Republican Gov. Mike Pence, who signed the legislation Thursday.

"No hate in our state," they shouted.

Call and response chants continued on the Statehouse lawn, while speakers used a megaphone to address the crowd.

"Even people with strong religious convictions are here today," Indianapolis City-County Council member Zach Adamson said.

"We are here today because, as Hoosiers, we embrace fairness. We believe in equality and justice. We believe that people value the time honored, honest-to-goodness Hoosier hospitality," said Adamson, who married his same-sex partner in a public ceremony in October 2013.

The longtime councilman stood alongside fellow organizer Jackson Blanchard, an 18-year-old junior at Herron High School in Indianapolis.

"We want all Hoosiers to feel comfortable here," Blanchard said. "I'm LGBT, I'm bisexual."

Hundreds of LGBT supporters cheered Blanchard on, including Whittney Murphy, a first-year student at Christian Theological Seminary.

The seminarian in-training said she wept when the bill was signed on Thursday.

"Ain't nobody got time for that," Murphy said. "It's not over. The fight doesn't stop here. We have to get out to vote."

Rally organizers also encouraged more people to register to vote to make their voices heard.

Pence on Thursday signed Senate Bill 101, also known as RFRA, unleashing a storm of criticism from inside and outside of the state from people who think the bill could lead to discrimination from business owners or religious leaders who don't want to serve gays or same-sex customers.

Business leaders also have criticized the bill, saying that it gives the state a bad image and will make it harder to recruit top talent to Indiana.

On Saturday, Angie's List CEO Bill Oesterle aid he will cancel the company's plans for a $40 million expansion of its Eastside headquarters because of his opposition to RFRA.

Soon after Pence signed the bill on Thursday morning, Salesforce.com founder and CEO Marc Benioff announced on Twitter that the San Francisco-based company would no longer send employees or customers to Indiana. Since then, the mayors of San Francisco and Seattle have boycotted official, city-funded travel to Indiana.

Pence and others have defended the bill as necessary to protect business owners who don't want to be forced to act against their religious beliefs.

But even supporters of the party expressed their disapproval at Saturday's rally.

Denise Moe, a Republican activist from Hendricks County, pointed out that there were five GOP state representatives who voted against the bill.

"This has really turned into pure March madness," Moe said. "Indianapolis is going to take a huge hit and when Indianapolis hurts our entire state hurts."

Call Star reporter Cara Anthony at (317) 444-6049. Follow her on Twitter: @CaraRAnthony.

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