As fans of the NCAA Final Four basketball tournament participated in various activities around downtown Indianapolis on Saturday, a group of marchers were also on the streets calling for Indiana to add protection for gays and lesbians to the state’s civil rights laws.
Hundreds of people of all ages carried signs and wore shirts with the words, “Indy welcomes all,” as they marched from the city’s Monument Circle to Lucas Oil Stadium, where the men’s Final Four games took place.
At one point during the afternoon march, the large group walked past the Indiana Convention Center, where fans gathered for several activities, including the Final Four Fan Fest.
Their chanting, “Whose state? Our state!” was heard loudly in the area.
Indiana lawmakers on Thursday added a section on the controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act to prohibit the use of the law as a defense for denying anyone goods or services, but protesters think the changes are insufficient. They took their message to the streets, on the day of the big NCAA Division I games.
“It’s important to continue to protest and let them know it’s not enough,” march participant and Indianapolis resident Brenna Riley told the Tribune-Star. Across the country, discrimination still exists, even though it is “masked” in a different way, Riley added.
They are calling for “protection for all citizens under the law,” she said.
March organizer Dominic Dorsey II told the crowd gathered at Monument Circle early afternoon that the changes made to RFRA aren’t enough and lawmakers need to add protections for gays, lesbians and others to Indiana’s civil rights laws, the Associated Press reports.