In the Indianapolis Statehouse, the people wearing red prayed.
They stood with a red ribbon twined around them, holding them together. They formed a circle directly beneath the arched stained glass top of the Statehouse Rotunda in the center of the building.
The prayer was organized by Freedom Indiana, a statewide grassroots campaign that advocates for LGBT rights. All morning, LGBT supporters hung around the main level of the Statehouse, singing, reading Bible verses and speaking out against a slew of senate bills that were discussed in the General Assembly Wednesday.
The worst offender, according to opponents of the bills, was Senate Bill 66, which was struck down in committee early Wednesday morning. The bill was dubbed “Super RFRA” by opponents and would have repealed last year’s controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act and replaced it with stronger protections of what the bill says are “fundamental rights,” such as freedom to practice religion and the right to bear arms.
In a few hours, the Rotunda would be packed with people rallying for LGBT rights. But at 8 a.m. Wednesday morning, there were only 11 people practicing their faith in the small circle.
They prayed for peace, common sense and freedom. They prayed for healing and for strength.
Most of all, they prayed for Indiana legislators to see reason and keep their oath to protect all citizens by halting the controversial bills.
Some of their prayers were seemingly answered when SB 66 was killed in committee around 9:20 a.m., less than a half hour after the meeting began.
The group chose to wear red because it represented the flames of Pentecost, said 68-year-old volunteer Robert Shaw, a retired pastor.
Pentecost is a Christian celebration of the day when the Holy Spirit descended on Christ’s followers who, as they were filled with the Spirit, began to speak in tongues so everyone could hear the word of God, regardless of the language they spoke.
“Certainly, we need the Holy Spirit to be among us today,” Shaw said.
But even though “Super RFRA” was killed for the current legislative session, the Freedom Indiana rally was still on for 12:15. The group’s work was not done, faith leader Jeff Bower said.
Still on the docket for the day was the committee hearing of Senate Bill 100 and Senate Bill 344, two other bills the LGBT community finds problematic.
And the concern isn’t limited to those bills, either. Donna Kordes, a 64-year-old transgender woman from Indianapolis, said she feels threatened by more than just the bills on Wednesday’s agenda. Senate Bill 35 is one of those bills that threatens her way of life. It’s a bill that says school restrooms must be designated for either men or women and “may be used only by the students of the biological gender for which the facility is designated.”
As she stood in the 11-person prayer circle, sweat dripped down Kordes’ face. She spoke softly about how she’s always felt different, and how after 10 years of working hard for transgender rights, she was scared those rights would now be taken away.
“You’re not different,” a woman named Becke Bolinger interrupted her. “You’re exactly the same. We are the same.”
After the initial prayer circle, Kordes and Bolinger embraced and walked away hand-in-hand. The Freedom Indiana volunteers milled about the main level of the Statehouse, while more LGBT supporters began to arrive.
There was time to socialize and mingle before the next prayer circle. Many supporters had never met before, and they spent time sharing stories. A 42-year-old Indianapolis resident named Amanda Lumpkin showed Kordes and Bolinger a picture of her child, who came out in Oct. 2014 as gender fluid.
He’d recently cut his hair, Lumpkin said, and looked exactly like his grandfather. The picture she shared was a side-by-side comparison of the two.
Lumpkin said she’s still adjusting to his change in pronouns, but she’s always believed gender and sexuality to be a social construct, and is fully supportive of her child. 78
It was shortly after the group began its second prayer circle at around 9:15 that SB 66 was shut down in committee. And again, around 11, prayer began, but this time, the circle had grown to 21 members.
“We shall all be free, we shall all be free, we shall all be free, someday,” they sang.
“We shall live in peace, we shall live in peace, we shall live in peace, someday.”
“We shall overcome.” 100
By now, the entire main level of the Statehouse was crowded with legislators and Freedom Indiana supporters. But even over the chatter, the singing reverberated off the building’s ornate limestone walls, carrying through its many rooms. 152
When it was time for the rally to start, more than 100 LGBT supporters were crowded under the Rotunda. Chris Paulsen, campaign manager of Freedom Indiana, began the rally with a short speech.
“Let’s move Indiana forward in the eyes of the world and make this state great again,” she said.
Surrounding her were people wearing pins and stickers and holding up signs that said “Liberty for all Hoosiers” and “It’s time for statewide LGBT non-discrimination.”
Several others spoke, including an LGBT-supporting business owner and a transgender woman.
The last speaker was an 18-year-old student named Evan Stoner. He was bullied in middle school, he said, because his classmates didn’t like the way he talked. The bullying escalated to the point that a classmate once shoved Stoner against a locker, threatening to kill him.
Hate isn’t a Hoosier value, Stoner said. He called those listening to act, because words are worthless without action.
“No child should have to go to school in fear,” Stoner said. “And no person should be scared to be who they are.”
