COMMENTARY: Same-sex marriage supporters turn attention to anti-discrimination rules

Now that Indiana has joined other states in granting full marriage rights to same-sex couples, expect the message to carry over to efforts to convince communities to be welcoming, too, by creating protections for those couples.

Some of the same people who worked to stop Indiana from amending its Constitution to ban same-sex marriage are turning their attention to local rules that bar discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Already, a dozen Indiana communities have written such anti-bias protections into human rights ordinances covering employment, housing and public services.

But most communities haven’t. And, unlike 18 other states, neither has the state of Indiana.

Chris Paulsen, president of Indiana Equality Action, thinks it’s time they do.

Last week, a day after the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for same-sex marriage in Indiana by rejecting requests to review lower court decisions, Paulsen got a disturbing call.

A woman seeking to wed her same-sex partner of 20 years wanted to keep secret the marriage record in the county clerk’s office. If her employer found out, she said, she’d be fired.

Paulsen could offer little comfort, since the woman isn’t living in one of those protected communities. She could indeed get married, but if she put her wedding picture on her desk the next day, she could be fired and have no legal recourse.

“We’ve come a long way,” said Paulsen, “but we still have a long way to go.”

Paulsen’s organization played a critical role in the fight against the ban on same-sex marriage. The group had representatives that sat on the board that oversaw the work of Freedom Indiana, the well-funded coalition of business, community, civil rights and faith leaders that led efforts to convince lawmakers to turn away the amendment.

Now it’s the Indiana Equality Action that’s building a new coalition and tapping an impressive network of supporters and sympathizers.

Paulsen thinks local governments will respond more quickly to a plea for anti-bias laws than the General Assembly, since social conservatives still hold sway in the Republican-controlled Legislature.

She expects the plea for such ordinances will come from community leaders, including church pastors who played an integral role in Freedom Indiana.

“I think local politics are easier because it’s more personal,” Paulsen said. It’s harder for local officials to say ‘no’ to their openly gay neighbors, constituents, family and friends.

Same-sex marriage opponents are gearing up, as well. The American Family Association of Indiana and the Indiana Family Institute have announced plans to intensely lobby for legislation to protect what they call “religious liberty.”

They worry that faith-based businesses and groups who oppose same-sex marriage will be forced to provide services that go against their beliefs.

Paulsen thinks the fear is overblown for at least two reasons. First, some religious exemptions can be built into anti-discrimination laws, she said. Second, same-sex marriage is rapidly becoming part of the norm — even in places where there is a different view of marriage.

She points to the surprising decision last week by University of Notre Dame and its sister institution, St. Mary’s College, to offer married-couple housing and benefits to legally married, same-sex couples.

“It’s the people you don’t expect to come out for equality, that when they do it’s so powerful,” Paulsen said. “Those have been the game-changers.”