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Constitutional amendments defining and defending marriage

Fri, 01/23/2009 - 8:34pm — john

Thirty states, comprising almost two-thirds of the country’s population, have approved constitutional amendments defining and defending marriage. Indiana should join that list.

State Reps. Dave Cheatham (D-North Vernon) and P. Eric Turner (R-Marion) are co-authors of the Defense of Marriage Amendment during this session of the General Assembly. If the resolution is passed by two consecutive terms of the General Assembly and Hoosier voters as part of a referendum, it would become part of the Indiana Constitution.

The language of the proposed amendment is simple: Only a marriage between one man and one woman should be valid or recognized as a marriage in Indiana. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized

If this constitutional amendment gets to the floor, I believe it will pass overwhelmingly with bipartisan support,” said Rep. Cheatham. “Marriage between one man and one woman is a fundamental value in our state and should be protected by placement in our state constitution.

“Rep. Cheatham and I have selected language that has been approved by voters of several states,” said Rep. Turner. “This language has withstood challenges from groups and individuals, including activist judges, opposed to the concept of one-m an-one-woman marriage. We must turn to the constitution to reinforce the will of the people and protect the sanctity of marriage that most Hoosiers value.”
“We have several courts around the U.S. now trying to strike down state statutes on marriage. This puts our statute at risk, and I look forward to Indiana joining the majority of the states in defining marriage as one man and one woman in our constitution.”
Reps. Cheatham and Turner worked to develop the new language after researching the existing constitutional amendments in the 30 states — representing 64 percent of the nation’s population — with marriage-defining amendments. The Cheatham-Turner proposal mirrors the language of the Kentucky and Wisconsin amendments.
California, Arizona, and Florida are the latest states to adopt constitutional amendments on marriage. Their voters approved the amendments in the November 2008 election.
Reps. Turner and Cheatham believe that although Indiana is among 10 other states with state statutes defining marriage, our law may be at risk because of recent trends: Two states have recognized same-sex marriage, and judges in other states have attempted to invalidate state statutes on marriage.
The Indiana General Assembly first considered a marriage amendment in 2004. The state Senate passed it 39-10, but it failed in the House.
Both the Senate (42-8) and the House (76-23) approved the amendment in 2005. The Senate passed the same amendment in 2007 (39-10) and 2008 (39-9), but it failed to succeed in the House.
Around the country, about 70 lawsuits have been filed in favor of same-sex marriages. Of the 34 cases decided to date, 10 courts have approved the idea of same-sex marriages. The legislatures and citizens of Alaska, California and Hawaii have overturned those decisions through marriage-defining amendments. Three cases have been reversed by judicial decree — two in the state of Washington and one in New York. Massachusetts and Connecticut now issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
“I hope Speaker Pat Bauer and Rules Chairman Phil GiaQuinta will take a good look at this new language, which has been in effect in other states for a few years, and allow the full House the opportunity to debate this important issue,” said Rep. Turner. “I am confident this House Joint Resolution, as it has in the past, will be passed overwhelmingly by the full House.”