Anti-Marriage Amendment Stopped in Indiana Legislature
Senate Republican Caucus votes not to consider amendment seeking to define marriage as between a man and a woman
WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights group, today issued a statement on recent developments in the Indiana state legislature. Indiana’s Senate Republican Caucus voted this week not to consider a resolution that would have proposed amending the state constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman. This vote means the amendment is unlikely to advance during this legislative session. The resolution would require approval by the Senate and House in two consecutive legislative sessions, and, if approved, would then go before the voters.
“The Human Rights Campaign is glad to see that this divisive, unnecessary amendment appears to have stalled,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “We congratulate Indiana Equality, its coalition partners, HRC members and others throughout the state who urged their legislators to reject this resolution.”
Indiana Equality Action Vice-President Randy Studt said, “Indiana Equality is glad to see that the Senate has finally decided this issue is unworthy of their time, after passing a similar measure on four occasions. We appreciate the calls and emails by our supporters to help defeat this measure.”
HRC is proud to be a coalition partner with Indiana Equality, working to oppose the proposed amendment. HRC organized its members to contact their legislators, urging them to oppose the resolution. Nearly 800 HRC members in Indiana took this action.
The Senate Republican Caucus’s vote appears to have effectively killed the proposed amendment for this legislative session. Similar measures were also introduced in the Indiana House of Representatives, but House Speaker B. Patrick Bauer has indicated that they will not be considered this session. The legislative session is scheduled to end in late April 2009.
Indiana statutory law already prohibits marriage by gay or lesbian couples. The resolution, which sought to place the proposed amendment before voters, would have written this prohibition into the state constitution and also threatened to prohibit other forms of relationship recognition for gay and lesbian couples.
The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.