When the Indiana Legislature was preparing for the same-sex marriage amendment debate last January, 17 states and Washington, D.C., allowed same-sex couples to marry, 29 had constitutional bans and four had statutory bans, including Indiana.
Opinions on same-sex marriage had shifted nationally since the first time the Indiana General Assembly voted three years ago in favor of a resolution adding a constitutional amendment that declared marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Since then, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional and 13 states took steps to legalize same-sex unions.
Things have changed even more since January. Pennsylvania, another state with a statutory ban, had its law overturned by a federal judge in May. Four states with constitutional bans as of January had judges strike down the limitations, but challenges to those rulings quickly followed. Those states included Utah, Oklahoma, Virginia and Texas.
A federal judge in Oregon overturned that state’s constitutional ban in May.
Proponents of approving a constitutional amendment in Indiana argued that having the language in the constitution would protect the state from legal challenges. House Joint Resolution 3, which would have established such a ban, passed the House and Senate, but alterations to its wording require it to be approved again before appearing on ballots for voters to have the final say. The earliest voters could see a referendum on the resolution is 2016.
In Monroe County, Democrat legislators — Rep. Matt Pierce and Sen. Mark Stoops— voted against HJR-3; Republican legislators — Reps. Peggy Mayfield, Eric Koch, Matt Ubelhor and Bob Heaton and Sen. Brent Steele — voted in favor of it.