A local news reporter went trolling businesses in small town Indiana and chose to enter a small pizza shop, Memories Pizza. She asked the store owners what they thought of the RFRA bill. When they said that they believe anyone has a right to believe whatever they want, but they were a Christian establishment and wouldn't be catering gay weddings, well...let's just say the liberal media made the story go viral in the worst possible way. Now they've been forced to close their doors amidst a series of threats from the tolerant left.
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.”
After receiving threats for simply stating their beliefs, they've been forced to close their doors.
In response to the story, Dana Loesch and her team set up a GoFundMe page for the pizza joint last night. By this morning, it had raised over $60,000. And as of publication, people have donated over $210,000.
On radio this morning, Glenn interviewed Memories Pizza owner Kevin O'Connor.
Below is a rush transcript of the full interview:
GLENN: We have a great show for you today. Mark Levin will be on with us in just a few minutes. Top of hour two. Kevin O'Connor is with us now. He is the owner of Memories Pizza in Walkerton, Indiana. He was on Dana's show last night trying to explain himself, if he was on other networks. That's exactly what they would approach him with. I want to find out how he's doing and how his business is doing today. His daughter Crystal was quoted on local television saying if a gay couple came in and wanted us to provide pizzas for their wedding, I guess we would have to say no. We're not discriminating against anyone. That's just our belief and anyone has a right to believe in anything. I don't think it's targeting gays. I don't think it's discrimination. It's supposed to help people that have a religious belief. Let's go to Kevin now. Hello, Kevin, how are you?
KEVIN: Hi, Glenn. Fine, thank you.
GLENN: How are you holding up, and how is the family? How is your daughter?
KEVIN: We're holding up. Emotions are pretty raw. But we're starting to get so much support other than all the first explosion of negative stuff. So that's helping a lot. People have been really great.
PAT: Are you guys closed for today, or are you going to open the shop?
KEVIN: I think we're going to be closed today. We were closed yesterday. And I think we'll be closed today too.
PAT: And that's because of the -- of the backlash of hatred you got. Right?
And threats?
KEVIN: Yeah. Yeah.
GLENN: Kevin --
KEVIN: The phone at the store, just it was constant ring. I don't think there was a two-minute break between -- that was probably the longest break of the whole time. It just was constantly ringing. So there was no way we could do business that way. So we're going to probably keep it closed a couple of days here, and Crystal is a little afraid. So I'll give her some time to get herself back together and work up the courage to go back in and get it rolling again.
GLENN: So, Kevin, you are -- you're a local pizza place.
KEVIN: Right.
GLENN: You've never had a problem with anybody before, I take it.
KEVIN: No. No.
GLENN: How and why did this local television station decide to target you?
KEVIN: The reporter that came in said they wanted to talk to the people out in small towns. And I asked, well, how did you pick us? And she said, well, I just Googled, and your pizza place came up first and that's -- so that's where I came. And that's where it all began.
GLENN: But I find that hard to believe because I know how slimy these reporters are. And this reporter might have been fine. But you do have religious paraphernalia you -- I assume that you have pictures or something, it just says that you're a restaurant that is festooned with Christian paraphernalia. So I don't know what kind of slam that is supposed to be. But I imagine --
KEVIN: We have a piano in there, an old upright piano. And Crystal had decorated that for Easter. And then we have a sign up there --
GLENN: Oh, my gosh.
KEVIN: -- that we do prayers, and that's it.
PAT: Oh, no. Oh, my gosh. So that's festooned.
GLENN: That's festooned. Easter decorations up. Okay. So I find it hard to believe that you weren't targeted because you had something about prayer up in your pizza place.
KEVIN: Oh. I have no way of knowing that.
GLENN: You're a better man than I am. You are a better man than I am. Have you -- I mean, if a gay person comes into your establishment, you don't turn them away, do you?
KEVIN: No. No. We've never turned anyone away.
GLENN: Okay.
PAT: So you don't ask anybody that comes in the door, excuse me, are you gay? Are you heterosexual? Are you atheist?
GLENN: Are you Muslim?
STU: You don't have certain toppings for each sexual preference?
KEVIN: No. We don't do any of that, no.
STU: But --
GLENN: So your daughter was just answering the question of, you being asked -- and I've never been to a wedding where a pizza place served. I find it amazing that she was going to -- just by random, just Googling, I'm looking for a small town pizza place, and she found you. Because when I think of someone catering a wedding, I immediately think of my local pizza shop.
STU: Have you ever catered a wedding, gay or straight?
KEVIN: No, we've never catered --
GLENN: Anything?
KEVIN: No. It was just a metaphor --
PAT: A hypothetical.
KEVIN: -- on Crystal's, part.
GLENN: So I want to make it clear. You've never catered anything, let alone a wedding.
KEVIN: Well, we have done for the school. They do a festival, and we run pizzas down to them.
PAT: Did you make sure there weren't any gays in the school before you catered to them? So stupid.
GLENN: Kevin --
PAT: This is so ridiculous.
GLENN: Kevin, can I ask you, because you must have thought of this in the last 24 hours, can you believe this is America? Can you believe this is the United States of America the way you're being treated?
KEVIN: No. And I thought of that before. I just -- it's hard to believe the way things have gone in such a short time.
GLENN: Can you tell us just so -- because we have people who listen to us on the left and they're not crazy, and I think what's happened is, they have turned a blind eye, all the normal friends who are Democrats and everything else, they've turned a blind eye to who is really running the show here. And they are -- they are really dangerous people. Just like if the right would just shut their mouth and turn a blind eye to dangerous fringe people on the right. What are the -- what are the kind of responses? I saw a teacher in Indiana, a high school teacher said, who will join me tonight to go to Memories Pizza to burn it down.
KEVIN: Yeah, I seen that. That's -- I don't -- I don't know what to say about it. I don't know what to think about it. It's just -- I can't believe the anger. The anger -- I don't think the anger is placed so much at us, but we became a place to vent.
GLENN: Are you getting death threats?
KEVIN: I haven't seen any. I've heard. But I haven't seen. And to be honest with you, I really got off the social internet here for the last day or two.
STU: That's a good idea. Although, there are some places that are nice on the internet right about now. Dana, on the Dana Show on this network, created a GoFundMe page for Memories Pizza that has $63,000 in it. You don't have to give us all the business details. But how many weeks of profit is $63,000 for a small pizza place?
KEVIN: Several.
GLENN: Yeah. Right. Kevin, we feel for you. We want you to know that our families are praying for you.
KEVIN: That's more important than anything.
GLENN: Well, we feel for you. And my father ran a small bakery. And I know what shutting a small bakery down for two days would mean. And you may be closed longer than that. And I just want you to know that there are millions of people who are hearing you right now who will include you in their with the families at night.
KEVIN: Well, I covet those prayers. That's the strength. So --
GLENN: Listen to this guy. He's coveting. That's against a commandment. These Christians. Oh. Kevin, God bless you, sir, we wish you all the blessings that you and your family stand in need of.
KEVIN: Thank you.
GLENN: You're welcome. Thank you.
STU: The address is GoFundMe.com/MemoriesPizza.
PAT: What a nice guy. They just don't deserve it. You just can't make a comment at all anymore.
GLENN: We're not these people. We're not these people. And we can't be mad about it. If we respond in anger, we lose. We must listen to him. Listen to him. We have to respond in kindness, in gentleness, because when you put good versus evil side by side, if we're screaming and we're saying the same things that they're saying, kill them, burn them down, if we approach this with anger, we lose. We lose. We have to follow the teachings of our master. It's the only way to win.
[Music playing]
GLENN: Wow. Listen -- listen to the mocking.
PAT: No. What? That's reinforcement, my friend.
GLENN: I will let God be your judge on that one. Back in just a second.