RFRA: Michiana business wouldn't cater a gay wedding Posted: Tuesday, March 31, 2015 10:40 PM EDT Updated: Wednesday, April 1, 2015 7:37 AM EDT Posted:Updated: 
 
 A small-town pizza shop is saying they agree with Governor Pence and the signing of the controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act. 
 
 
 
 The O'Connor family, who owns Memories Pizza, says they have a right to believe in their religion and protect those ideals. 
 
 
 
 “If a gay couple came in and wanted us to provide pizzas for their wedding, we would have to say no,” says Crystal O'Connor of Memories Pizza. 
 
 
 
 She and her family are standing firm in their beliefs. 
 
 
 
 The O'Connors have owned Memories Pizza in Walkerton for 9 years. 
 
 
 
 It's a small-town business, with small-town ideals. 
 
 
 
 “We are a Christian establishment,” says O'Connor. 
 
 
 
 The O'Connor family prides themselves in owning a business that reflects their religious beliefs. 
 
 
 
 “We're not discriminating against anyone, that's just our belief and anyone has the right to believe in anything,” says O'Connor. 
 
 
 
 So, when Governor Pence signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law, the family was not disappointed. 
 
 
 
 “We definitely agree with the bill,” says O'Connor. 
 
 
 
 When ABC 57 asked O'Connor about the negative backlash the bill has been getting for being a discriminatory piece of legislation, she says that's simply not true. 
 
 
 
 “I do not think it's targeting gays. I don't think it's discrimination,” says O'Connor. “It's supposed to help people that have a religious belief.” 
 
 
 
 O'Connor says because she's a Christian, she and her family don't support a gay marriage and that is their right. 
 
 
 
 Kevin O'Connor, Crystal's father, says he believes the negative backlash the bill and its supporters are getting isn't fair. 
 
 
 
 “That lifestyle is something they choose. I choose to be heterosexual. They choose to be homosexual. Why should I be beat over the head to go along with something they choose?” says Kevin O'Connor. 
 
 
 
 The O'Connor family told ABC 57 news that if a gay couple or a couple belonging to another religion came in to the restaurant to eat, they would never deny them service. 
 
 
 
 The O'Connors say they just don't agree with gay marriages and wouldn't cater them if asked to. ||||| The Christian owners of a small Indiana pizzeria who became the first to publicly state they would deny catering an LGBT couple’s wedding in the wake of the state’s new and controversial Religious Freedom Law, said the business was forced to close Wednesday after a wave of online criticism and threats. 
 
 Shortly after Memories Pizza owners told a local TV station Tuesday that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act would allow them to deny catering a same-sex wedding, 1-star Yelp reviews rolled in denouncing the business. 
 
 The owners of the Walkerton, Indiana, pizzeria told ABC 57 that they would not deny service to same-sex couples, or a couple belonging to another religion, but added that they would not cater a same-sex wedding if asked. 
 
 “We’re not discriminating against anyone, that’s just our belief and anyone has the right to believe in anything,” co-owner Crystal O’Connor told the station. 
 
 Crystal’s father, Kevin O’Connor, also defended the decision. 
 
 “That lifestyle is something they choose,” he said. “I choose to be heterosexual. They choose to be homosexual. Why would I be beat over the head to go along with something they choose?” 
 
 In less than a day, thousands of negative reviews were posted on the restaurant’s Yelp page and a fake website with the company’s name was created. 
 
 Walkerton Police Department officials told BuzzFeed News that investigators were looking into several threats made against Memories Pizza, including those reported by the owners and posted on social media. At least one case has been forwarded to prosecutors. ||||| Wildly overestimated self-righteousness is the ham and pineapple of the Internet – ubiquitous, unnecessary, super gross. So when the owners of Walkerton, Indiana's Memories Pizza this week seized upon the new Religious Freedom Restoration Act to declare that they would most assuredly not be catering any same-sex weddings, it became a golden opportunity for a whole lot of dumb, hateful behavior from a variety of sources. So bravo and thank you to Jason Narducy, for showing to handle a situation like this the right way – with grace, generosity and extra cheese. 
 
 Let's recap. The furor began when the establishment's co-owner Crystal O'Connor told local news ABC 57 Tuesday, "If a gay couple came in and wanted us to provide pizzas for their wedding, we would have to say no. We are a Christian establishment." Is that a dumb, shortsighted, inhospitable idea? Sure. Is O'Connor unclear on Biblical policy regarding pizza catering for same-sex unions? Absolutely. (Hint: There is none.) Was her father Kevin being jaw droppingly ignorant when he added, "That lifestyle is something they choose. I choose to be heterosexual. They choose to be homosexual. Why should I be beat over the head to go along with something they choose? Why should I be beat over the head to go along with something they choose?" You bet – and I for one would love to hear more about Mr. O'Connor's brave "choice" to be straight. But just to keep this whole thing accurately sized for a moment, let's also note that a) O'Connor also said they would not refuse service to gay customers who came in to eat and that b) no gay couples have actually asked them to do their weddings. But faster than you can say, "Hold the anchovies," Memories Pizza became our cultural metaphor of the week. 
 
 Instantly, the small business became a social media superstar, with a flood of scathing one star reviews on Yelp and a torrent of withering comments on their Facebook page, some of which are truly vile and threatening. A local high school coach, meanwhile, tweeted, "Who’s going to Walkerton, IN to burn down #memoriespizza with me?" I am thinking maybe some people don't get how this being the good guys thing is supposed to work. Pretty sure it doesn't involve setting fires. The shop owners also say they've been getting slammed with fake orders, and announced Wednesday they're closing their doors and going on indefinite hiatus. Kevin O'Connor told Fox News, "It's just been ugly. I don't know what to call it." 
 
 But because we Americans love go big, Memories has also received a tidal wave of support – including over $70 thousand thus far in donations from a GoFundMe campaign purporting "To relieve the financial loss endured by the proprietors' stand for faith." Great. So now these clowns get to spin a narrative of persecution – because if you're harassing and threatening people, you literally are persecuting them. Not your finest moment, confused arbiters of tolerance. 
 
 And this is where Jason Narducy comes in, showing that there is another path. Narducy, a member of Chicago band Split Single, this week made the very grown-up decision to go to another pizza place in town, order a hundred dollars worth of pies, and pass them out. "Do you want some non-discriminatory pizza?" he asked, as he handed out slices to press and protestors. On Twitter Wednesday, he recounted the experience, thanking Casey's in Walkerton and saying, "We were happy to buy $100 worth of pizza from you." As he explained, "We peacefully visited Memories Pizza in Walkerton, IN today," and added, "Thanks for all the support, everyone." Jason Narducy: you are a pizza brandishing American hero.
– We've heard plenty of public outcry about Gov. Mike Pence signing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law last week. So who is cheering the law on? A family-owned pizza joint in Walkerton, Indiana. "If a gay couple came in and wanted us to provide pizzas for their wedding, we would have to say no," Crystal O'Connor of Memories Pizza tells ABC 57. The station reports the family says gays are welcome to simply dine there—just not to order a wedding pie. "We are a Christian establishment," says Crystal. "We're not discriminating against anyone, that's just our belief and anyone has the right to believe in anything." Crystal's dad, Kevin, tells the station he also concurs with the bill. "I choose to be heterosexual. They choose to be homosexual. Why should I be beat over the head to go along with something they choose?" he says of potential gay customers trying to get their nuptials catered. ABC 57 reports the reaction has been swift and harsh, noting the pizzeria's Facebook rating has fallen from a 5 to a 1.2; its rating is currently a 1 on Yelp, too, where some of the current posts are definitely NSFW. (Gov. Pence insists the law is being "grossly misconstrued.")