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.
– 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.")