INDIANAPOLIS — Gay rights advocates are hoping to parlay the momentum from their legislative victories in Indiana and Arkansas last week into further expanding legal protections for gays and lesbians in those states and others.
Facing pressure, including from businesses such as Apple and Walmart, lawmakers in Indiana and Arkansas rolled back their states’ new religious objections laws, which critics said could be used to discriminate against gays. Amid the uproar, the Republican governors of Michigan and North Dakota urged their legislatures to extend anti-discrimination protections to gays.
Twenty-nine states currently don’t include protections for gays and lesbians in their nondiscrimination laws, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. But the Indiana and Arkansas laws, along with court rulings or legislatures legalizing same-sex marriage in 37 states and an expected U.S. Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage this year, are fueling efforts to change that.
“We’re not going to let any of these people off the hot seat,” said Kathy Sarris, co-founder of the gay-rights group Indiana Equality Action. “This ultimately is going to happen in Indiana.”
Hundreds of people calling for Indiana to add protections for gays and lesbians to state civil rights laws marched in downtown Indianapolis on Saturday, drawing the attention of fans attending the NCAA Final Four basketball tournament.
