Leaders of an LGBT Christian group holding its annual conference in Indianapolis despite the passage of RFRA earlier this year says they want the governor and lawmakers to hear from a Christian community supportive of gay, lesbians, bisexual and transgender people.
Several months ago, The Evangelical Network decided to move its conference from Nashville to Indianapolis. And when the controversy over Indiana’s RFRA law erupted, organization president Todd Ferrell says there was lots of pressure – including from those planning to attend – to move the event out of Indiana.
“We really felt that the Lord wanted us to be here and support the local community," Ferrell says. "We’ve got a lot of friends here that don’t have the option to pick up and move out of the state of Indiana – this is where they live; this is where they work.”
Ferrell says the group wants Governor Pence and legislative leaders to hear from someone other than the Christian leaders who don’t preach a message of inclusiveness.
“The LGBT community are not the godless, faithless community that is so often portrayed. We want a chance to sit down, we want to be part of the conversation,” he says.
Indiana’s LGBT community is gearing up for a debate next session over including their civil rights protections in state law.