Indiana Stonewall Democrats statement on the advancement of HJR-6, the Marriage Discrimination Amendment

This past year’s election dramatically changed dynamics at the Indiana State.  It provided Republicans with undisputed control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.  While some have called for a moratorium on “hot button” issues, a number of legislators seem “hell bent” on forcing their personal agendas on Hoosiers.

Over the past four years Democratic House Speaker Pat Bauer refused to even hear some of these issues, but new Speaker Brian Bosma, a Republican, is obviously allowing those issues, including the marriage discrimination amendment, to be brought before the State Legislature.

As the House Judiciary Committee has this week advanced HJR-6, the Marriage Discrimination Amendment, let’s take a few minutes to review why the Marriage Discrimination Amendment is wrong for Indiana.

The founders of our state intended Indiana’s constitution to serve as a guarantee of basic freedoms and a plan for how our government would function, not as a response to hot-button social issues.  The Marriage Discrimination Amendment will enshrine discrimination into Indiana’s most important legal document. If they were true conservatives, they would understand that  Constitutions give rights to people, they don’t strip them away.

The Marriage Discrimination Amendment won’t “protect traditional families,” but will cause real harm to real families, young and old, gay and straight.  Approximately one-third of lesbian couples and one-fifth of gay male couples are raising children. To deny security and stability to these families would hurt Hoosier children, not protect them.

The Marriage Discrimination Amendment threatens the health-care benefits of young adult couples, children, and senior citizens.  At a time when we need to close the gap between the insured and the uninsured, the Marriage Discrimination Amendment will force taxpayers to pay even more to maintain our existing health-care system.

On religious grounds, several denominations oppose constitutional amendments that restrict access to marriage. A constitutional amendment to elevate one faith community’s beliefs over another’s is bad public policy and is contrary to our State and Federal Constitutions.

Marriage Discrimination Amendment will damage our state’s weak economy even further, discouraging progressive corporations from locating in the Hoosier state.  Efforts to develop Indiana’s economy will be hampered by perceptions of the state’s intolerance. A community’s success in attracting and retaining high-tech business is strongly correlated with its success in providing a safe, respectful and congenial environment for all persons.  When Indiana is trying to attract and retain bright, talented individuals, we shouldn’t send a message that an entire class of Hoosiers and their families are second-class citizens.

How about Indiana’s employers?  Benefits are needed to recruit and retain top-tier workers. The Marriage Discrimination Amendment will cause some companies to question their ability to offer benefits to unmarried couples and will invite costly legal challenges to existing benefits programs. A constitutional amendment that prevents firms from being the kind of company they want to be is a serious, unwarranted intrusion of government upon the private sector and another clear violation of conservative principles.

For those of you who are in college or work for an institution of higher learning, how will the Marriage Discrimination Amendment affect you?  Several Indiana colleges and universities offer domestic-partner benefits, including Ball State, Butler, DePauw, Indiana, Indiana State, IUPUI, and Purdue.  Administrators view domestic-partner benefits as critical to attracting and retaining the best educators and researchers. The Marriage Discrimination Amendment will force them to discontinue such benefits.  At the same time, top universities aggressively recruit the nation’s most talented gay and lesbian students for their undergraduate and graduate programs. A state’s reputation for intolerance is a turn-off to such prospective students and an additional cause of “brain drain.”

To combat this attack on individual rights and privileges, everyone needs to be fully committed and engaged.  Reach out to your State Representative and tell them of your opposition to HJR-6, the Marriage Discrimination Amendment.  Make your voice heard and tell the state legislature that the Marriage Discrimination is wrong for Indiana.