A Carmel City Council committee decided to table a proposed anti-discrimination ordinance.
The ordinance would impose a $500 fine on any business that discriminated against customers on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation.
Carmel's councilors decided to send the ordinance back to attorneys for review – meaning it won't return to the full council at next Monday's meeting.
"It's dividing the council, it's dividing the community, it's a difficult issue, primarily because as the mayor's even quoted as saying, we don't have this issue in Carmel," said Eric Seidensticker, a Carmel County Common Council member.
The full council will likely take the issue back up in October.
Similar ordinances passed recently in Columbus, Terre Haute, Hammond and Muncie.