The Indiana House is expected to vote
as early as Monday on a resolution that aims to ban gay marriage in
the state, the Associated Press reported.
The resolution cleared the House
Judiciary Committee with a 8-4 vote on Monday, February 7.
It is Republicans' first attempt to
define marriage as between a man and a woman in the Indiana
Constitution since regaining control of the Legislature in November.
If approved by lawmakers and voters in
2014, House Joint Resolution 6 would ban gay marriage, civil unions,
domestic partnerships and any government recognition of gay and
lesbian couples in the state.
Indiana law bans gay couples from
marrying, but ban backers argue that courts could overturn the law.
At last week's hearing, Micah Clark of
the American Family Association (AFA) urged lawmakers to approve the
legislation: “People have the right to live as they choose, they
have the right to be free, but two percent of the population does not
have the right to redefine marriage for the rest of the state or the
entire populations.”
House Representatives P. Eric Turner, a
Republican, and Dave Cheatham, a Democrat, are the primary sponsors
of the measure.