Indiana
Indiana civil rights advocates, citizens, and legislators fought for over two years to stop marriage discrimination from being written into their state constitution. In April 2007, the anti-marriage constitutional amendment was rejected by a House committee. State advocacy groups continue to work against discrimination and for the freedom to marry for same-sex couples and their families in Indiana.
WHERE YOU CAN GO TO GET INVOLVED OR LEARN MORE:
Indiana Equality
Indiana Equality is a coalition of organizations from around the state that focus on ensuring basic human rights for Indiana's LGBT citizens.
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LEGISLATIVE STATUS IN INDIANA:
Your Community—Indiana
Human Rights Campaign (HRC)
HRC presents resources, news, and the current marriage and
relationship recognition laws in each state.
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PUBLICATIONS:
Indiana Census Snapshot
January 2008
Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, this report provides demographic and economic information about same-sex couples and same-sex couples raising children in Indiana.
Geographic Trends Among Same-Sex Couples in the U.S. Census and the
American Community Survey
Williams Institute
November 2007
Gary Gates at the Williams Institute released groundbreaking research
on the geographic trends among same-sex couples. The report finds the
biggest increases in Southern and Mountain states and states barring
legal acceptance of same-sex couples had larger percentage increases
in same-sex couples from 2000 to 2006.
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NEWS:
Faculty opposes anti-marriage constitutional amendment
The Ball State University Faculty Council voted to oppose the proposed gay marriage amendment Senate Joint Resolution 7. Beckie Adams, a professor in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, said the Faculty Council was strongly opposed to the state constitution amendment.
Indiana Senate Passes Anti-Marriage Amendment
Indiana's Senate has approved a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would limit marriage to opposite-sex couples. The Senate vote sends the measure to the House, which is controlled by Democrats. Speaker Patrick Bauer (D) has said repeatedly that an amendment is not needed because same-sex marriages are already banned under Indiana law.
Gay-wed ban won't get hearing
A proposed anti-marriage constitutional amendment in Indiana likely was dealt a fatal blow today when a key lawmaker said he would not give the issue a hearing. Rep. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, who is chairman of the House Rules and Legislative Procedure Committee, said today that the most urgent issue facing the state is property taxes, not an anti-marriage constitutional amendment.
BLOG: New IN guardianship case evokes memories of Kowalski battle
Leonard Link
August 7, 2007
Indiana's guardianship statute is specific as to who can be appointed a guardian for an incompetent adult, and same-sex partners are not on the list. (Indiana bars marriage for same-sex partners, and there is no legal recognition of a same-sex relationship under state law.) Under the state's guardianship law, first priority for appointment would be a person designated in a durable power of attorney. In other words, a little "gay family planning" on the part of Atkins and Conrad would have put Conrad first in line here.
BLOG: New attention-grabbing billboard campaign
Pam's House Blend
April 16, 2007
A Metropolitan Community Church in Indianapolis, IN, this week began a new media campaign aimed at challenging Hoosiers to re-examine their assumptions about what the Bible says about homosexuality. "In the past, many Christians misused the Bible to support slavery, oppose equal rights for women, and oppose interracial marriage," says Rev. Jimmy Creech, Executive Director of Faith In America. "They went so far as to accuse people on the other side of being unbiblical. The same thing is happening again with respect to same-gender relationships. It has to stop."
Anti-gay marriage ban collapses in IN
The Indianapolis Star
April 4, 2007
An Indiana House committee rejected a proposed constitution ban of gay and lesbian marriages Tuesday, signaling a major victory for the gay community and big employers that opposed the amendment.
Why we need to talk about marriage equality
Washington Blade
May 1, 2006
"Question your friend or your father about what they are saying — make them actually think about their words. Don't let go unchallenged a flippant brush-off comment about 'there's no need for gay marriage.' Put up your dukes and fight back."
Equal marriage proponents and opponents rally at Indiana's House
WTHR Eyewitness News
March 8, 2005
Indiana's House is undecided on an amendment to the State Constitution banning marriage for gay couples. In an effort to recruit lawmakers, amendment supporters spoke inside the Statehouse, while equal marriage proponents rallied outside.
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Williams Institute
January 2008
Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, this report provides demographic and economic information about same-sex couples and same-sex couples raising children in Indiana.
Read families’ stories about how marriage discrimination affects everyday life. These stories communicate, in concrete ways, how the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage hurts families and helps no one.
Start in The Marriage Basics to get short answers to your big questions about the freedom to marry, and learn more about the protections and responsibilities of marriage, the historical background for this civil rights movement, why separate is not equal, and so much more.
