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Despite 'keeping a low profile' Crystal O'Connor and her father Kevin O'Connor went on Fox News to discuss their controversial comments
Crystal, who told a reporter that she would not cater a gay wedding, revealed on Thursday she has never catered any wedding
When asked if they'll re-open Kevin said he initially shut down because he 'couldn't tell if they were getting real orders'
Crystal added that they'll 're-open soon' but said she didn't know when
Revised Indiana law: No one has the legal right to 'refuse to offer or provide' goods, services, facilities or employment to anyone in previously protected classes or based on sexual orientation or gender identity'

By Associated Press and Alexandra Klausner For Dailymail.com and Snejana Farberov For Dailymail.com

Published: 08:28 EST, 3 April 2015 | Updated: 16:48 EST, 3 April 2015

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The owners of an Indiana pizza shop who refused to cater a gay wedding have gone into hiding - but plan to re-open soon after raising $500,000.

Memories Pizza in Walkerton faced criticism this week after co-owner Crystal O'Connor expressed support for a new Indiana religious objections law.

Despite 'keeping a low profile' Crystal O'Connor and her father Kevin O'Connor went on Fox News on Thursday to discuss their comments and and the backlash they've received.

It was revealed on Thursday that the pizza shop has never catered a wedding before.

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In hiding: Crystal O'Connor and her father Kevin O'Connor said they'll re-open soon but were forced to close the doors to their pizza shop because the phones kept ringing and they didn't know if orders were fake or real

'Anger. Bitterness. It's something I never expected or imagined when the comments were made. It's just unimaginable to me,' said Kevin when asked about the reaction to his daughter saying she would deny gay couples pizza on their wedding day.

When asked if they'll ever re-open their pizza place Kevin said he initially shut down because he 'couldn't tell if they were getting real orders or fake orders' and said that the phone rang all day and all night.

'We plan to re-open soon we just don't know when,' Crystal said.

A contributor from Glenn Beck's The Blaze set up the fundraising page on GoFundMe for the pizzeria, with a goal of helping 'the family stave off the burdensome cost of having the media parked out front, activists tearing them down, and no customers coming in'.

Indiana pizza shop declares they won't cater gay weddings

Controversy: The O'Connors made their comments a week after the Religious Freedom Restoration Act was passed, forbidding state or local government from 'substantially 'burdening' a person's right to their beliefs

up in arms: Demonstrators gather outside the City County Building on March 30 in Indianapolis to protest the controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act

A new Indiana law passed yesterday states that no one has the legal right to 'refuse to offer or provide' goods, services, facilities or employment to anyone in previously protected classes or based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

The news comes a little after a week Indiana passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which critics say would allow businesses to openly discriminate against gays, and just a few days after his daughter told a local news station they would refuse to serve a gay marriage ceremony.

Speaking to ABC57 on Tuesday, Crystal O'Connor said: 'If a gay couple came in and wanted us to provide pizzas for their wedding, we would have to say no.’

According to TMZ, O'Connor tried to clarify his views, saying he would never refuse to serve gay customers, but as a Christian he disagrees with gay marriage, and so would refuse to serve a same-sex wedding.

The pizza joint has been in operation for nine years. The interior of the old-fashioned eatery is adorned with crosses and bible quotes.

Just outside the pizzeria, a signs states that the staff begin each morning with a prayer.

'We are a Christian establishment,' Crystal O’Connor confirmed, but pointed out that their business practices are not biased.

Residents react to pizzeria refusing to cater gay weddings

Shuttered: Memories Pizza in Indiana, whose owners Crystal and Kevin O'Connor (pictured) said they would refuse to cater a gay wedding, closed its doors after being abused over the phone and online

‘We're not discriminating against anyone, that's just our belief and anyone has the right to believe in anything,’ insisted O'Connor.

When Indiana Governor Mike Pence, a Republican, signed the controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law last week, the O’Connor family in Walkerton applauded his decision.

The measure prohibits state and local government from ‘substantially burdening’ the ability of people — including businesses — to follow their religious beliefs.

Pence said in a statement last Thursday that the bill ensures ‘religious liberty is fully protected under Indiana law.’

Critics of the legislation said it could allow discrimination against gay people, but its supporters claimed the bill merely seeks to prevent the government from compelling people to provide such things as catering or photography for same-sex weddings or other activities they find objectionable on religious grounds.

Several reviewers invoked Adolf Hitler and the KKK in their eviscerating assessments of the pizzeria but they have since been taken down

Crystal O’Connor, of Memories Pizza, dismissed discrimination concerns, saying the law is not targeting gays - it merely helps people that have strong religious beliefs.

She added that as a devout Christian, she does not support same-sex marriage – a conviction shared by her father.

He said: ‘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?’

The Facebook and Yelp pages for the restaurant about 20 miles southwest of South Bend were bombarded with over 300 mixed reviews and their pizza place has currently just 2.5 stars following the family's controversial statements.

A coach of a high school golf program was suspended after a Twitter post he wrote mentioned going to Walkerton and burning down the restaurant.

The picture section of the review page has was swamped with images, some of which contain explicit content, supporting homosexuality and gay rights. It appears as though those images have since been taken down.

One five-star review, written from the point of view of 'Adolf. H' no longer on the page stated: ‘Memories Pizza had been recommended to me by my buddy Herman years ago - and his praise was well deserved.

‘The largely Aryan ownership manages their subhuman staff quite well. No y*** or q****s to speak of and the tomato sauce was pretty decent for canned.’

No longer on yelp: The pizzeria's Yelp page was targeted by those who disagreed with the O'Connors' statements, attracting hundreds of one star reviews, some of which were removed

User Marco V. wrote in his review in part: 'You don't want sinners coming into your business? guess what? We are all sinners.'

The review was accompanied by a meme of Crystal O'Connor with a speech bubble that read: 'Jesus said bigotry is great for sales!'

Many Yelpers mocked Ms O’Connor’s suggestion that anyone would want to order pizza for their wedding reception.

'As a pizza loving lesbian - I would NEVER serve pizza at my wedding. Morons,' fumed Laura D from Long Beach, New York.

Another critic of the Walkerton establishment joked that their discriminatory practices did not go far enough.

‘I’m ANGRY and will never order pizza from these people again because they're simply not discriminatory enough! I mean, just "gays"? What about anyone who works on Sundays (Leviticus 23:3)? People who wear makeup (Jeremiah 4:30)? Hungry people (Proverbs 23:2)? Men without beards (Leviticus 19:27)? Tattooed people (Leviticus 19:28)? People who eat shellfish (Leviticus 11:10)? People with messy hair (Leviticus 10:6)? New mothers (Leviticus 12:4-5)? Psychics or mediums (Leviticus 20:27)?’

A small number of people have come to the O’Connors' defense amid an avalanche of negative comments.

Lori Childers wrote on the eatery’s Facebook page: ‘God Bless you for standing up for your rights, its YOUR business and you should run it however you see fit. Sick of LBGT denying me of my God given rights. Go find another store to shop at or hey open your own store.......’

Governor Pence addressed the backlash against the bill in a Wall Street Journal op-ed piece published Monday, writing that he abhors discrimination.

'If I saw a restaurant owner refuse to serve a gay couple, I wouldn’t eat there anymore,' he said.