Fundraiser for anti-gay Indiana pizzeria raises $485,000
A donation fund set up for restaurant owners who said they’d refuse to serve a gay wedding has reached $485,000.
The owners of Memories Pizza in Walkerton, Indiana had said they would use the newly passed Religious Freedom Restoration Act to refuse to serve pizza at a gay wedding. Crystal O’Connor said: “If a gay couple was to come in and they wanted us to provide pizzas for their wedding, we would have to say no.
“We are a Christian establishment… we’re not discriminating against anyone, that’s just our belief and anyone has the right to believe in anything.”
They were inundated with negative reviews online, and say they were forced to close due to threats.
However, a GoFundMe was also set up to raise funds in support of the business. Its total, as of Friday morning, is $485,000, just two days after the page was set up. Nearly 16,400 people have donated so far.
The donation page states: “Religious liberty is under assault in Indiana and that’s never been clearer than with the O’Connor family.
“When asked by local press the hypothetical question of whether or not they’d prefer to have their family owned business, Memories Pizza, cater a gay wedding, the owner said no citing their own religious beliefs as the reason.
“Rather than allowing this family to simply have their opinion, which they were asked to give, outraged people grabbed the torches and began a campaign to destroy this small business in small town Indiana.
“All for having an opinion that is rooted in faith.”
Lawmakers in Indiana yesterday reached an agreement to update the law in order to specifically protect LGBT people from discrimination.
