>They took turns portraying Indiana as a state on the move or a state in decline. They touted job opportunities for the disabled, agreed that drug enforcement must focus on rehabilitation for users and prosecution for dealers, and talked up their own dedication to public service.
Indiana gubernatorial candidates John Gregg, Eric Holcomb and Rex Bell even got into a possible pardon for Keith Cooper, a Chicago-area man wrongfully convicted of armed robbery, during their third and final debate at the University of Southern Indiana Tuesday night.
But while the face-off in USI's Performance Center ostensibly was devoted to health and social issues, Democrat Gregg told reporters afterward it surprised him for what territory it did not cover -- namely, the state's debate over lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights.
Gregg said it has "by far been the most important social issue" in Indiana in recent years, citing what he called its paramount importance to business and industry.
The Legislature's failure to pass statewide LGBT rights legislation "has damaged our reputation, plus it makes us look like we're not respecting all Hoosiers," Gregg said.
Gregg also came out forcefully for repeal of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which critics feared would allow businesses to discriminate against people based on sexual orientation, and in favor of a bill declaring certain crimes hate crimes. Bell also made clear his opposition to RFRA.
Republican Holcomb, who has decried what he calls Gregg's focus on sexual orientation issues and suggested it is not crucial to voters, did not share Gregg's dismay over its absence from the debate. Suggesting it didn't come up because it has been discussed in other debates, Holcomb said RFRA and its attendant controversial implications have been publicly aired, and neither side seems willing to give ground.
"We have a balance right now where locals will be able to address this," Holcomb said. "As the president pro-tem of the State Senate said today, he will be focused on the budget, and this issue probably will not get in the way of that focus -- but we're willing to hear it if it makes it way through the General Assembly. But I'll be focused on my economic development, community development, (campaign initiative) Excellence in Education, delivering good taxpayer services at great taxpayer value."
Gregg said Indiana's public posture on LGBT rights harms the state's ability to attract and retain talented workers and businesses.
"Indiana is a state where the federal law allows a same-sex couple to get up, go to work and get married over their lunch hour -- only to come back and find out they could lose their job or their housing because there's no civil rights protection," he said.
Gridlocked over extending new rights to transgender residents and unable to see a potential compromise amid overheated arguments by LGBT advocates and religious conservatives, legislative leaders decided in February to kill LGBT anti-discrimination legislation. The gay rights proposal, Senate Bill 344, extended additional civil rights to gay Indiana residents -- but not transgender people -- with some exemptions for religious organizations, faith-based groups and small businesses providing wedding services.
LGBT advocates had called for total civil rights for gay and transgender individuals, protesting exemptions for religious groups. Social conservatives cited concerns that transgender individuals -- and some sexual predators -- could have used gender identity, and not their biological sex, as a means to enter opposite sex public bathrooms and school locker rooms. Transgender individuals said they had never had an issue using restrooms either before or after their transition.
Forces on both sides of the debate anticipate another battle royale in next year's legislative session.
The Legislature studied the issue this past summer because of a mandate from President Barack Obama's administration asking schools to allow students to use restrooms based on their gender identity.
In August, Rep. Greg Stueurwald, R-Avon, chairman of Indiana's Interim Courts and Judiciary Committee, said several committee members had expressed a desire to wait and see what federal courts do with the issue before introducing legislation.
Holcomb, Gregg and Bell seek to succeed Republican Gov. Mike Pence, who became GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump's vice presidential running mate.
Tuesday's debate, organized by the non-profit Indiana Debate Commission, was staged before an audience of nearly 300 people in USI's Performance Center. It marked the first time a statewide debate has been held in Evansville.
The hour-long event aired live on WNIN television and radio and was streamed live on courierpress.com and 14news.com.
The debate was moderated by Mizell Stewart III, a former Evansville Courier & Press executive editor who now works as a news executive for Gannett, parent company of the USA TODAY NETWORK. Stewart is president of the American Society of News Editors.