Same-sex marriage battle brewing in Indiana

“The clean campaign people in the world may end up using this as an example,” said Andrew Downs, director of the Mike Downs Center for Indiana Politics at IPFW.

“I think there will be a boatload of money spent with great difficulty figuring out where it came from.”

The two-phase fight is already revving up and could last a year. The clash starts in the legislature and may well end in a ballot battle next November.

It’s been years since Indiana has had a significant campaign on a public question – the last big one in 1988 when the issue of eliminating the constitutional ban on gambling arose.

The move to amend the Indiana Constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage began in 2004 and has been stymied multiple times over the years. It takes two separately elected General Assemblies to approve the amendment before sending it to a vote.

It passed both the Indiana House and Senate in 2011. Then an election occurred in 2012, meaning it has to pass again this year or the process must start over.