The Indiana House on Monday agreed to
alter the language in a proposed gay marriage ban, a move which could
delay when voters get to decide the issue.
With a 52-43 vote, House members
approved Republican Representative Randy Truitt's amendment, which
carves out banning civil unions and other similar arrangements.
House Joint Resolution 3 easily cleared
the House and Senate with bipartisan support in 2011. However,
before an amendment can head to voters, it needs to pass the General
Assembly in two consecutive two-year sessions.
“The support that we saw today from
Indiana legislators – including Republicans – and the success in
achieving this vote reflected the growing momentum for the freedom to
marry the person you love, and a repudiation of the effort to strip
gay Hoosiers and their families of all legal protection and respect,”
Evan Wolfson, founder and president of Freedom to Marry, said in an
emailed statement.
“HJR-3 is a flawed bill and it has
dangerous consequences for thousands of Hoosier families,” Freedom
Indiana, the coalition working to derail the measure, said in a
statement. “The second sentence of HJR-3 would have far-reaching
ramifications for gay and lesbian Hoosiers who just want to protect
their families.”
A final vote in the House could come as
early as Tuesday.
If the House and Senate agree to the
measure as altered, the earliest the modified amendment could reach
voters is 2016.