VALPARAISO | What started as a discussion over a few beers Thursday night has turned into a grassroots campaign to promote diversity and inclusion in the city.
A group of city residents created a Valparaiso is Open for Business Facebook page late Thursday night and by 11 a.m. Friday had nearly 350 followers and some 25 businesses signed up to the cause.
Christopher "Pino" Pupillo, owner of Bright Idea Creative Services, said the Valparaiso is Open for Business effort is in response to the signing of Senate Enrolled Act 101 by Gov. Mike Pence on Thursday.
"There is a pretty universal outrage," said Pupillo, including in Valparaiso over the passage of the bill.
"Our goal is to show that Valpo is an open, welcoming, inclusive city," he said.
Pupillo said he was joined in the Thursday night conversation by Janis Casto, a Valparaiso resident, Kevin Cornett, owner of Who's Your Handyman and Deb Fray, a retired teacher and Center Township Advisory Board member.
They were inspired by Josh Driver, a Valparaiso native who initiated the Open for Service campaign in Indianapolis by designing and selling stickers for businesses to attach to their storefronts allowing customers to know where they stand.
Pupillo said the group has purchased 100 stickers and will be distributing them free of charge to Valparaiso businesses upon request. The stickers should arrive sometime next week and businesses can make their request by responding to the group's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Valparaiso-is-Open-For-Service/746959405422430?notif_t=page_new_likes
Pupillo said in addition to allowing Valparaiso businesses to get the stickers close to home, the group also wants to put a little pressure on local officials to take a stance on the legislation.
In his weekly update, State Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso, defended the legislation and criticized opponents for mischaracterizing the legislation.
"Opponents of the bill claim it creates a 'license to discriminate.' This claim is unfounded. In fact, this law, commonly referred to as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), is simply aimed at preventing government from trampling on the free exercise of religion in Indiana," Charbonneau, a Republican from Valparaiso, wrote on his website.
Pupillo said they believe the Religious Freedom Restoration Act is bad for business. In addition, it will also contribute to the notion of "brain drain," driving talented young Hoosiers from returning to their state for work.
So far, he said, the response has been bi-partisan and has cut across all kinds of businesses within the city.
"It is a call to action and in Valparaiso, people are crossing political lines to answer it," said Pupillo.