INDIANAPOLIS— An Indiana House committee will begin the General Assembly’s review of a proposed amendment to ban same-sex marriage in the state’s constitution Monday.
Along with the proposed amendment – titled in the 2014 legislative session as House Joint Resolution 3 – the House Judiciary Committee also will consider a companion bill that seeks to explain what lawmakers feel the amendment will and will not do.
Republican legislative leaders said Thursday they felt the companion bill will answer questions surrounding the amendment’s intent for Hoosier voters if passed by the General Assembly, and later to the courts if a lawsuit is filed on a new constitutional ban.
“Personally, I thought it was important to do it,” Senate President Pro Tem David Long (R-Fort Wayne) said of the companion bill. “I feel like this is the best way to do it. It lays out a clear statement for the courts and for Hoosier voters, if it gets to the voters, that there are no unintended consequences.”
The bill list six items that the General Assembly intends for the amendment not to restrict, including employment benefits, entering into power of attorney or giving lawful consent, human rights ordinances, protection under Indiana’s domestic violence laws and any legislative action to protect unmarried people.
However, House Speaker Brian Bosma (R-Indianapolis) and Long differed Thursday on the second sentence of the amendment, which deals with a legal status identical or similar to marriage. Bosma said the amendment still prohibits civil unions, but would allow domestic partnerships, while Long said he wasn’t so sure on civil unions and that the language leaves the topic open for future lawmakers to decide.
Bosma said he feels weighing the amendment is an “appropriate action” for the General Assembly to take, and hopes it will pass out of the committee to the full House.
“I think it is right for the Legislature to make this decision, and not a judge, and that’s why I support, personally, the amendment,” Bosma said.
Freedom Indiana, a coalition formed in opposition to the amendment, said the companion bill shows that the language of the proposed ban is “deeply flawed.”
“Unfortunately, instead of addressing the amendment’s defects through proper channels, they’re trying to sidestep and obfuscate the process by introducing a bill they think explains away the potential harm to Hoosier families,” said Megan Robertson, Freedom Indiana’s campaign manager.
State Rep. Thomas Washburne, R-Evansville, who vice chairs the Judiciary Committee, has confirmed he will vote for the amendment. State Rep. Wendy McNamara, R-Mount Vernon, who also sits on the committee, has previously told the Courier and Press she’s undecided.
Washburne said the committee will treat the amendment like any other bill.
“There will be ample time for proponents and opponents to state their positions,” Washburne said, “and it’s my understanding ample time for amendments. The normal process will be followed as much as we can.”
The General Assembly gave initial approval to the amendment’s language in 2011, but a separately-elected Legislature must pass it as well. If the same wording is passed this year, the amendment will go on the November 2014 ballot for Hoosier voters to have the final say.
The proposed amendment reads: “Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Indiana. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized.”
The House Judiciary Committee will meet at 10 a.m. EST inside House Chambers on Monday.