Editor’s note: To close out 2016, the Post-Tribune is taking a look back at the news through the eyes of people who helped make it.
After dabbling in community service, attorney Carly Brandenburg said she decided to step up this year to help advocate for Munster’s human rights ordinance on principle.
“We don’t want anyone to feel like they would feel uncomfortable or excluded from our town,” she said. “Because that’s not the type of town that we are.”
“I think sometimes in the wake of (the Religious Freedom Restoration Act) and in the wake of some of the things that were happening in Indiana, we need to cut against that direction,” said Brandenburg, 34, a lawyer with Eichhorn & Eichhorn.
Brandenburg joined We Are Munster, a grass-roots organization including former Munster resident Amy Sandler. She and her late wife, Niki Quasney, were instrumental in getting the state’s ban of same-sex marriage overturned in federal court in 2014.
“I basically got taken to a meeting by a friend of mine,” Brandenburg said. “I heard about it, and it sounded like something that would be important to be involved in.”
After moving to Munster with her husband, Stephen, and daughter, Fiona, 5, Brandenburg has been involved with the arts and wanted to promote the town as a welcoming community.
We Are Munster argued the ordinance would have an economic boost and help draw younger residents to the town.
The town’s ordinance — passed in April — made it illegal to obstruct someone from entering a business, entering into a contract, obtaining and maintaining employment, or participating in any type of program or service available to the general public on the basis of race, sexual preference, disability or gender identity in the town.
Religious worship and clergy while engaged in religious activities, non-for-profit clubs organized exclusively for religious purposes, and private gatherings not open to the public are specifically noted exceptions to the ordinance.
In crafting the ordinance, town officials avoided adding a layer to town government, such as a human rights commission, according to Reed. Anyone in violation of the ordinance could be fined up to $500 for each occurrence.
Statewide, other Indiana communities have human rights ordinances, including Indianapolis, South Bend, Bloomington, Carmel and Fort Wayne. Many of the communities passed the ordinances in the wake of the national criticism that rained down upon the state after the passage of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in 2015, which many perceived as giving business owners a license to discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender citizens.
Brandenburg said it was exciting to see a number of local businesses that publicly supported the ordinance, including large employers such as Community Hospital and Target, and locally owned businesses including Dance Gallery and Three Floyds Brewery, as well as the School Town of Munster.
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She said she wasn’t sure about public office someday but she could get involved in other local issues.
“I don’t see any reason why I wouldn’t if I believe in something, or it speaks to me,” Brandenburg said. “It made me realize it’s important to be involved in things at the grass-roots level.”