The Goshen City Council decided against changing the civil rights ordinance to add protection for sexual orientation and gender identity after six hours of debate Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.

That debate didn't leave council members with any consensus, either, just a deeply divided community, with passionate arguments on both sides.

The final vote was 4 to 3, reflecting the divide. This time, Councilman Chic Lantz, one of the cosponsors of the ordiance, voted against it.

He originally supported it to protect people from discrimination, but looking at what's happened elsewhere in the wake of similar laws and ordinances changed his mind. "I don't want Goshen to have to go through that," he said of a rise in lawsuits.

The other cosponsor, Jeremy Stutsman, said he looks forward to discussing the issue again in the future.

When all was said and done, 149 people -- 88 of them Goshen residents -- talked to the council. "People are talking, but they don't want to listen to each other. It saddens me. I've supported this all along, but just put it in a shredder," said Cathy Cripe.

Brad Collins said, "It is going to be a tough healing time."

Everyone argued about what was right. The problem is, they didn't agree.

"I believe in this situation, being opposed to discrimination is the right thing," said Carl Yoder.

On the other hand, Lisa Drapeza said, "What about our rights as Christians? Why do we always have to take the back seat?" She pointed out Elkhart's having to remove the 10 Commandments monument from city hall. "Always push us back, push us back. What has this world come to?"

Shannon Christophel argued, "Why do we want to be like everybody else? ... This was a town that was a wonderful little place."

Several supporters, though, said they want Goshen to be an open place that protects the vulnerable.

"The communities which are thriving and growing are those that are welcoming to minorities and various sexual orientations and women," said Gina Liechty. She said her support of the ordinance was a pragmatic one.

Then again, opponents also voiced pragmatic concerns that the ordinance opens up local businesses to additional lawsuits.

"That's the issue here, the lawsuits," said Tom Stump, council president.

Pastor Steve Thomas said the issue was what kind of community Goshen should be. "We want to be a community that practices respect and tolerance."

However, other Christians said they don't want to support sin.

"By its very nature, homosexual actions are intrinsically evil. This is not to say that all homosexuals are evil," said Robert Roeder. "We all suffer temptation."

"Every individual has dignity and every individual has the right for clothing and housing and food and I'm not asking for anyone to be excluded," he said, but he doesn't want to give the impression that homosexual behavior is acceptable.

Pastor Mel Shetler said the ordinance amendment was a difficult thing, one he ultimately opposed. "Whenever civil rights overlap with moral ethics, it begins to do an awful thing inside of me, puts me in turmoil."

While he understood the desire, "It seems to be one of those ordinances that I'm not sure can be effective. It seems to be a heart thing."

Not everyone thought the division was permanent, though. Gary Haney said, "I think eventually we'll all come back together."