Republican and Democratic lawmakers and LGBT advocates agree that the LGBT rights debate won't end, even after Senate Republicans Tuesday killed a bill that would have offered some legal protections.
The proposed measure would have extended anti-discrimination protections to lesbian, gay and bisexual Hoosiers but not the transgender community. Senate GOP leadership didn't call the bill down to the floor for amendments or a vote after they said it became clear the measure couldn't advance.
Bill author Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, says the transgender issue was one of the biggest sticking points.
"I think the transgender folks have a message that we need to hear and I think that that may not be a bad idea," Holdman says.
Holdman would like to discuss gender identity in a summer study committee, but LGBT advocates say that shouldn't be necessary.
"This has been a discussion that's been going on for years," says Chris Paulsen, Campaign Manager for Freedom Indiana. "Indiana needed to have protections this session. It's not something we can put off."
Senate Republican Leader David Long says LGBT rights are an inevitability in Indiana and plans to debate the issue again next year.