Indiana conservatives move to reintroduce anti-gay marriage amendment
January 12, 2009
Indiana anti-gay lawmakers and religious crusaders held a press conference today at the state capitol to urge the legislature to pass a constitutional amendment to keep gay and lesbian couples from marrying or forming civil unions. Although Indiana state law already bans gay marriage, a group of conservatives decided it was worth spending taxpayer dollars to define marriage as between one man and one woman in the state constitution. Conservative GOP legislators seem to be obsessed with the issue:
The GOP-controlled state Senate has voted three times since 2005 to pass a proposed amendment banning gay marriage, which would have to pass two consecutive, separately elected General Assemblies and then win approval in a statewide vote to take effect. Measures have twice died in the Democrat-controlled House before coming up for a vote of the full House. If a constitutional ban is passed in either the 2009 or 2010 sessions, it would also have to pass again in either 2011 or 2012 to be eligible for a statewide vote in November 2012.
The amendment has been slightly reworded in this version to allow for universities and private companies to continue offering domestic partner benefits to their employees. State House leaders have already hinted that any marriage constitutional marriage amendment is essentially dead on arrival:
House Speaker Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, said amending the state's constitution isn't necessary because Indiana law already prohibits same-sex marriage. "We certainly don't want to waste the public's time when we have the critical duties that we have," Bauer said. ...House Rules Committee chairman Rep. Phil GiaQuinta, D-Fort Wayne, said he would take a look at the proposed amendment if the resolution is assigned to his committee. But he said Indiana's current law is working, so he would likely be inclined against giving the issue a hearing. "We haven't had any gay marriages that I'm aware of since the law's been taken into account," he said.
We'll continue to monitor the developments in Indiana and will keep you posted.
