John Gregg tells editors RFRA still hurting Indiana's image, economy

The RFRA, which initially allowed Indiana businesses to cite religious beliefs to deny services to people based on sexual preference, touched off a firestorm of controversy after Gov. Mike Pence, a Republican, signed it into law in 2015.

Gregg is running for governor for a second time and is opposed by Republican Eric Holcomb and Libertarian Rex Bell.

Gregg met Wednesday with editors and publishers for Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. from around the state. Holcomb had met with the editors and publishers Tuesday.

During the 60-minute interview, Gregg shared light-hearted moments and emphasized his plans for the state.

As he's stated in the past, Gregg said civil rights protections should be extended to the LGBT community and that he would sign an executive order extending those protections to all state employees.

“It has damaged our reputation and image for hospitality,” Gregg said. “It has hurt the state economically. We have to do it.”

He noted that moderate Republican mayors around Indiana have had LGBT civil rights protections adopted by their cities.

“I disagree with my opponent,” Gregg said. “It has been passed in large and small communities because it’s the right thing to do.”

Holcomb has said that extending civil rights protections should be handled at the local level and that no one around the state is raising the issue.

“My opponent said Gov. (Mike) Pence did a good job of handling civil rights,” Gregg said. “You’re either for or against civil rights.”

He said Holcomb and Republicans in the Indiana General Assembly want to take decision-making away from local school boards when it comes to education, but they want to leave local communities to wrestle with civil rights.

Gregg said the extension of civil rights protections is raised by people throughout Indiana, countering Holcomb’s statement that the issue is not raised during his travels in the state.

Concerning the presidential campaign between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, Gregg said he supports Clinton.

“I didn’t take her to the prom,” he quipped, alluding to Republican advertisements that suggest a close relationship between the two. “As a Democrat in Indiana, I have to have Republican support.”

Gregg said Republicans are linking him to Clinton in a “horrible and gnarly” way and using the dreaded "liberal" label on his campaign.

“I’m staying focused on the economy, education and drug problem in Indiana,” he said.

Gregg said, as speaker of the Indiana House at the time, he worked with Republicans following the Sept. 11, 2011, terrorist attack to spend much of the state’s $1.2 billion surplus to keep state workers on the job and continue road projects.

Concerning a recent federal court ruling upholding an injunction that found Gov. Mike Pence couldn’t withhold funds to organizations helping Syrian refugees settle in Indiana, Gregg said it was wrong for Pence to ban someone from the state based on race, religion or gender.

“Banning Muslims is wrong,” Gregg said.