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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Supporters of gay and transgender rights gathered at the Indiana Statehouse on Wednesday in anticipation of a Senate committee taking up measures that could establish statewide civil rights protections based on sexual orientation and possibly gender identity. The measures come in response to the bitter debate last March over a religious objections law that drew swift and largely negative attention to the state after critics contended that it would sanction discrimination against gay people on religious grounds. GOP lawmakers and Republican Gov. Mike Pence, who supported the law, hastily made changes to tamp down the uproar. Since then, however, the issue has driven a wedge between social conservatives and the business wing of the Republican Party. Meanwhile, the state's business establishment has pushed lawmakers to go further and adopt full civil rights protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. But passage of the new measures is far from certain. Pence has said he will prioritize religious freedom over LGBT rights, and reaction has been split on the impact on the state's economy of the religious objections law. Before the Senate was set to take up bills addressing LGBT rights in the afternoon, a Senate panel killed a related proposal earlier in the day. That bill, sponsored by socially conservative state Sen. Mike Young, would have thrown out the "fix" lawmakers approved last spring to the objections law and replaced it with more robust protections for the rights of worship, religion, speech and bearing arms. That could have led to an awkward debate for GOP leaders under pressure to adopt LGBT civil rights. Young said critics mischaracterize his effort to protect "constitutional rights." "There are some people who either don't understand, or like to demagogue, or fear-monger," Young said. "But one day, when your rights are taken away, just remember I had a bill that would have protected your rights." The Senate Judiciary Committee did not hear public testimony or take a vote. Rather, GOP committee Chairman Brent Steele allowed Young, an Indianapolis Republican, to present the proposal and indicated that next year may be a more appropriate time for the debate. But the focus was shifting to the Senate Rules and Legislative Procedure committee looking at the LGBT rights bills. One bill to be considered would create statewide protections for anyone fired from a job, denied service or evicted because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. It also includes a long list of exemptions for clergy, small businesses and religious organizations. But it would trump existing LGBT rights laws adopted by cities, including Indianapolis. The other bill would allow cities to keep robust LGBT rights ordinances, but would exclude transgender people from statewide protections. Religious conservatives argue that such laws could compel Christian businesses owners to work with gay people despite their religious objections. The oft-cited example is a photographer, baker or wedding planner working for a same-sex couple. "This really comes down to a battle of big business and big money against small businesses and religious liberty," said Indiana Pastor Kevin Baird, who advocates for religious conservative causes. A survey by the tourism booster group Visit Indy — which backs LGBT rights — suggests the law may have cost Indianapolis more than $60 million in convention revenues. That's against $4.4 billion a year in economic impact such gatherings have yielded in recent years. One evangelical leader said that's a minimal effect and Indianapolis might not have gotten the conventions in any case. "We need to create an environment that is welcoming and inclusive if we want other people to come here, whether that's top talent we want to recruit and retain, or conventions," said Jon Mills, a spokesman for diesel equipment manufacturer Cummins Inc.

Indiana Senate poised to take up LGBT rights bills