The Goshen City Council has turned down a controversial ordinance after six hours of debate in front of a huge crowd.

The council voted 4 to 3 against the ordinance that would make it illegal to discriminate against anyone based on sexual orientation.

Councilman and co-sponsor of the ordinance Chic Lantz switched his vote. According to our news partners at the Elkhart Truth, he originally supported the ordinance in its first reading, but now says he's changed his mind after looking at similar laws in other cities.

More than 500 people showed up to the meeting and most wanted to share their opinion on the ordinance that would add sexual orientation and gender identity to a list of protected classes. Other classes already included are race, religion, color, sex, disability, national origin and ancestry.

The council decided to hold the meeting at the high school instead of the regular meeting room to accommodate for the large crowd.

It was standing room only inside the auditorium and some people were kept outside by the fire marshal.

Dozens of speakers explained their viewpoint and tried to sway the council.

"No one is being asked to change their beliefs, a group of citizens has stepped forward and asked for your help. It is not likely you'll understand their experience, or possibly even believe its true, unless you've somehow been personally affected," said one Goshen resident.

Some speakers discussed religious reasons for their stance on the law.

"This is an issue of morals, if we start telling people in our schools everything's okay, where do we draw the line? I want to know where do we draw the line," said one resident who said he talked with his pastor about the ordinance.

Other residents told very personal stories.

"I am a man trapped inside a woman's body. being different from the social norm has made my life very difficult for me in terms of finding a job and a career. Some of this is my doing due to the fact I refuse to play a conformist game so many of us were forced to play as we were growing up." said another Goshen resident who identified himself as a transgender.

Some business owners also were worried about a potential economic impact of the ordinance and possible litigation regarding the law.

"Please don't offer people another reason to do business outside of Goshen. Our economic welfare has had enough setbacks as it is," said one business owner.

The speakers were generally split between the two sides.

The council voted a little after 1 a.m. Wednesday morning.