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Category Archives: Indiana

New Group Pushes to Redefine Marriage in the Hoosier State

The Indy Channel:

Indiana Capitol BuildingA coalition of businesses and activist groups has begun its push to defeat an amendment that would write Indiana's same-sex marriage ban into the state constitution.

[Freedom Indiana] Campaign Manager Megan Robertson says passing the amendment would strip gay and lesbian residents of their rights and harm Indiana's reputation. She calls the campaign against the amendment a bipartisan push.

The Republican-dominated Legislature passed the amendment in 2011, but the measure must pass a second time and be approved by voters before it's added to the state constitution.

The Indiana Legislature and Indiana voters will likely have the final say on the controversial debate next year.

Gov. Pence: States with Marriage Amendments Have Fastest Growing Economies

During a visit to Evansville this week, Indiana Governor Mike Pence pointed out the correlation between states that protect marriage as husband and wife and strong economic growth:

Gov. Mike PenceGovernor Pence was in town to introduce a new state based initiative office at the Evansville Rotary.  He says that many of the 32 states that define traditional marriage in their charters have some of the fastest growing economies, including Indiana, drawing a correlation between a ban on same-sex marriage and economic development. Pence says the federal government has outlined it's role in marriage equality and now wants the people of Indiana to have a say on how it is recognized in the state.  "As someone who believes in traditional marriage, I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. I do support efforts to allow the people of Indiana to make that decision whether we include the traditional definition of marriage in our state constitution and I think that's appropriate," Pence said.

Pence says he's confident if the issue is on the ballot, voters will reaffirm the state's existing laws banning same sex marriage. -WFIE

Peters to WaPo: "Very Telling [That] Gay Marriage Advocates Are Using the Courts So Heavily"

NOM's Thomas Peters was interviewed by the Washington Post about gay advocates turning to the courts to push their agenda -- while we continue to fight for allowing the people to decide:

Judge-Legislation“We think it’s very telling gay marriage advocates are using the courts so heavily,” said Thomas Peters, communications director for the National Organization for Marriage. “They only support the voice of the people when they think it go their way.”

Peters said his group is focused on Indiana, where Gov, Mike Pence (R) has urged the legislature to pass a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage so it can be put before the voters as a ballot initiative in 2014, as well as the ongoing legislative fight in Illinois over whether to legalize gay marriage.

... Peters said even though Oregon is “a deep blue state,” the National Organization for Marriage would work to uphold the state’s same-sex marriage ban. “We welcome free and fair votes of the people,” he said.

We're On Offense!

National Organization for Marriage

Dear Marriage Supporter,

As you know, last week the Supreme Court handed down two terrible decisions on marriage. But the Court stopped short of fabricating a "right" to redefine marriage in our Constitution, choosing instead to allow the states to settle the question.

This means winning or losing marriage is still up to us, The People.

Within hours of last week's rulings, Governor Mike Pence of Indiana issued a statement calling upon the General Assembly to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot for the people of Indiana to vote on next November.

NOM has been strongly supportive of this effort since 2011, when the first vote to put a Marriage Protection Amendment on the ballot passed both chambers by large, bipartisan margins.

Join us as we go on offense! Please email your state representative and senator and demand they support allowing the people of Indiana to vote on marriage!

If you do not live in Indiana please forward this to your friends and family who do (or use the social media sharing buttons at the top and bottom of this email) and make a pledge to support our critical work.

Over the past few years NOM has been battling in deep blue states, successfully fending off legislative attacks on marriage in states such as Illinois, New Jersey and Hawaii — hardly friendly territory for us.

This is an opportunity to go to a thriving, Midwestern state, and demonstrate that heartland America believes in marriage.

Gay marriage advocates are still terrified of letting the people decide this issue — because they know the people do not support redefining marriage.

Help us remind the media elites and our opponents where America really stands on marriage. Please email your representative and senator right away demanding they support the right of the people to vote on marriage!

Please remember to encourage your friends and family to take action once you have done so — absolutely every single one of us can help this mission to protect marriage succeed.

Thank you and God bless you,

Brian S. Brown

Indiana GOP Close to Deciding if it Will Push for Marriage Protection Vote

More evidence that our calls and emails are more needed than ever at this critical time!

Republican leaders say they are close to deciding whether a proposed state constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage will get a hearing this year in the legislature.

Indiana’s proposed marriage amendment cleared its first hurdle in 2011, as members of the General Assembly overwhelmingly passed it. In order to go on the election ballot in 2014, the legislature needs to approve the measure again either this session or next. (Indiana Public Media)

TAKE ACTION! Demand Your Right to Vote on Marriage!

National Organization for Marriage

Dear Marriage Supporter,

The Indiana Marriage Amendment was passed on a bi-partisan basis by the legislature in 2011, and needs to be approved just one more time before being referred to voters in 2014.

But our legislators in Indiana need some extra encouragement, so I need you to stand up today and tell them that the people of Indiana have a right to vote on marriage because we care about protecting it for future generations!

Around the country, we have seen same-sex marriage activists trying to engage elitist judges and legislators to circumvent the will of the people and the democratic process and derail attempts to allow popular votes on marriage.

And in Indiana, gay marriage lobbyists and their allies in the media are once again ramping up their campaigns of disinformation by attempting to persuade House and Senate leadership to postpone a vote on the measure.

The amendment stands a very good chance of passing if brought to a vote, but legislators like Senate President Pro Tem David Long (R-Fort Wayne) aren’t being forthright about whether they will bring the issue up for a vote.

Marriage supporter, we need to hold our representatives accountable!

I need you to do three things right away — each of which will only take a few minutes:

  1. Click here to send an email to your state legislators, urging them to support the Indiana Marriage Amendment. A copy of your letter will also be sent to Senate President David Long and House Speaker Brian Bosma.
  2. Phone the following key legislators and tell them to support the Marriage Amendment:
  3. David Long (R) Senate President Pro Tem: 317-232-9400
    Brian Bosma (R) Speaker of the House: 317-232-9677
    Brandt Hershman (R) Senate Majority Leader: 317-232-9840
    William Friend (R) House Majority Leader: 800-382-9841

     

    You can also click here to find your local legislators and give them a call, too.

  4. Forward this email to friends and family throughout the state, or use the buttons below to share on Facebook and Twitter. (We need a groundswell of public support to make sure legislators know their constituents stand firmly on the side of marriage!)

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Marriage is the beautiful and sacred union of a man and a woman, bringing together the two halves of humanity for the benefit of children and all of society. . . and it must be protected!

It is critically important that our legislators hear from us and that they know that Hoosiers have the right to vote on a marriage amendment! Make sure that our leaders in Indianapolis understand this by taking a few moments to make your voice heard right away!

ACTION NEEDED: Tell Legislators to Give People Vote on Indiana Marriage Amendment

National Organization for Marriage

Dear Marriage Supporter,

Your legislators need to hear from you today in support of the Indiana Marriage Amendment.

Click here to take action now.

The amendment was passed by the legislature in 2011, and needs just one more legislative approval before going to voters in 2014.

But gay marriage activists and their allies in the media are playing up opposition to the amendment — trying to persuade House and Senate leadership to postpone a vote on the measure. Most recently, a group of liberal clergy — representing groups such as the United Church of Christ, LifeJourney Church (a Metropolitan Community Church whose website indicates it was founded by "18 devout gay Christians"), and The Church Within, among others — gained airtime with a public letter urging the legislature to reject the marriage amendment.

With substantial Republican majorities in both houses, the amendment stands a good chance of passage if brought to a vote, but recent reports indicate that Senate President Pro Tem David Long (R-Fort Wayne) is hedging on whether he will allow the amendment to be voted on in the Senate.

I need you to do two things right now:

  1. Click here to send an email to your state legislators urging them to support the Indiana Marriage Amendment. A copy of your letter will also be sent to Senate President David Long and House Speaker Brian Bosma.

  2. Forward this email to friends and family throughout the state, or use the buttons below to share on Facebook and Twitter. We need a groundswell of public support to make sure legislators know their constituents stand firmly on the side of marriage.

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We're on the cusp of a major victory in Indiana, and need your help to make the amendment a reality. Please take action today!

Indiana GOP Silent on Marriage in New State Party Platform

AP:

The Indiana Republican Party's new platform makes no mention of same-sex marriage, even though GOP gubernatorial candidate Mike Pence has sought a national ban in Congress and legislators have pushed to put a ban in the state constitution.

... Indiana Republican Party spokesman Pete Seat downplayed the importance of the change in the state platform, which was approved during the party convention last weekend.

"A lot of issues are covered; a lot weren't," Seat said. "This platform reflects the broader priorities of the Indiana Republican Party."

... When the legislature voted in 2011 for an amendment banning same-sex marriage, 11 Democrats voted with 59 Republicans to approve it in the House, while three Democrats joined 37 Republicans to support it in the Senate.

The amendment must be approved again by the Legislature elected in November to be considered by voters in the fall 2014 election.

Tired Meme Alert: MN Gay Marriage Advocates Tout Bogus Economic Arguments

We've seen this argument floated before, and now it has popped up again - this time in Minnesota:

"In so many ways, this constitutional amendment [defining marriage as between one man and one woman] is bad for Minnesota employers and a distraction from the real priority for the state: growing the economy," said Charlie Zelle, CEO of Jefferson Bus Lines and chair of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The above was taken from a press release issued by a pro-SSM group in MN.

Maggie Gallagher took a look at this claim that gay marriage is an economic development plan when it was last floated in Indiana and demonstrated how it is bogus in her syndicated column:

Consider the state-level data on per capita personal income growth between 1999 and 2009, published by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The top five states for income growth in that decade are: Wyoming, North Dakota, Louisiana, Montana and Oklahoma. Four of the five states with the fastest income growth per capita have state marriage amendments, and none have gay marriage.

Or consider another potential measure of a state's business climate: What do CEOs think? Chief Executive magazine annually surveys 543 CEOs to identify which states are the best and the worst for job growth and business. In 2009, the top five states for job growth in CEOs' opinions were: Texas, North Carolina, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee. Four out of five have marriage amendments, and none have gay marriage.

(The worst? California, New York, Michigan, New Jersey, and yes, Massachusetts.)

Or consider another data point that comes from a recent U.S. Chamber of Commerce survey, "Enterprising States," which includes a ranking for what it called "middle-class job growth." These are presumably the good jobs that the creative class seeks or fosters.

The top five states for middle-class job growth between 2002 and 2009 are: Utah, Wyoming, Nevada, Hawaii and Texas. Once again, four out of the five have state marriage amendments, and none have gay marriage.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also compiles a list of states that are the top "overall growth performers": North Dakota, Virginia, South Dakota, Maryland and Wyoming. The top three all have state marriage amendments, and none have gay marriage. [Maryland has since rejected same-sex marriage as well.]

And back in 2004 Steven Malanga wrote a devastating critique of this "creative class" meme: The Curse of the Creative Class.

FROM NOM'S NATIONAL NEWSLETTER: Indiana Senate Holds the Line on Marriage Amendment

This week the Indiana Senate passed a state marriage amendment by a bipartisan margin of 40 to 10! And this after the amendment passed the House by an astonishing 70 to 26 margin!

Several supporters of gay marriage, in what is, sadly, becoming a too-common recurring theme of lack of respect for the democratic process, started screaming from the gallery, “Stop hating, stop dividing, stop pandering.” The Senate had to actually close the gallery and remove all spectators in order to permit the debate to progress. Classy act, that one.

We published a full-page ad in the Columbus (Ind.) Republic going after Cummins, Inc. for its ludicrous claim that defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman would somehow interfere with its ability to compete. A Cummins exec actually threatened to punish the people of Indiana by failing to expand jobs if they passed the marriage amendment--even as the company was announcing plans to expand in nearby Tennessee, which HAS a marriage amendment.

NOM Ad in Columbus Republic

(Thanks to Micah Clark and the American Family Association of Indiana for co-sponsoring the ad.)

The amendment, identical to amendments passed in nearby states, says simply:

“Only a marriage between one (1) man and one (1) woman shall 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.”

Congrats to the people of Indiana! Kudos to all the groups in Indiana who worked so hard for so many years to make this great victory possible. And thank you, my friend, for all that you've done to make this new victory possible. You are the reason NOM is able to win incredible victory after incredible victory.

In Indiana, this is only the first step. After an election, both the House and Senate will have to pass this resolution again--and then the future of marriage in Indiana will go to the people in 2014.

Only one Republican jumped ship, believing the opposition's line: Rep. Ed Clare, a new member. He's the only Republican in about six votes in the last ten years to come out against protecting marriage.

And the Democrats who voted to protect marriage will, no doubt, face attacks from within.

Indianans will have to work to protect and extend this victory in 2012--and not only in Indiana!

Misleading SSM poll touted by Indiana D's paid for by Indiana Equality Action

In the wake of yesterday's victory for Marriage in the Indiana Senate (which saw three Democrats join every single Republican in voting to allow the people of Indiana a chance to vote on the issue in 2014), we thought it would be helpful to set the record straight about a poll, paid for by Indiana Equality Action, that tried to claim almost half of Hoosiers oppose defining marriage as between one man and one woman in their state constitution. This from one of our friends in the state:

"I'm not sure if everyone knows this yet or not, but I believe the poll that Senate Democrats keep bringing up showing that 47% of Hoosiers oppose the Marriage Amendment was paid for by the lead gay marriage activist lobby, Indiana Equality Action. They totally control everything about the poll and can't even get a majority of their 400 sample group to oppose marriage. Also, 66% of those polled were Democrats or Independents, only 34% were Republicans (there are other issues as well with the methodology of the poll if you even want to get into the weeds of a poll paid for by the opponents of HJR 6). If pro-marriage folks had paid for a poll like this, liberal Senators would have scoffed at it as ridiculously biased."

We would add, in terms of the sampling by party affiliation, In 2008 Indiana voted 36% R, 41% D and 24% I (=101% due to rounding). In 2010 Indiana voted 42% R, 31% D, 27% I.

Thus it appears this poll undersampled Republicans and oversampled Independents: 34% R, 30% D, 36% I.

Getting further into the weeds, the phrasing of the question posed about the marriage amendment used classic tactics to flavor the response, including the common red herring of saying the marriage amendment preserving the definition of one-man, one-woman marriage would "make gay marriage illegal."

Even with such phrasing, more Hoosiers strongly favor (35%) a marriage amendment than strongly opposed (34%), 12% somewhat oppose it while 8% somewhat favor it, and a whopping 11% said they didn't know or refused to answer. Maggie has already written before about how more and more people are likely choosing to keep their views on marriage private rather than be treated or perceived as a "bigot" by the pollster.

The only actual "poll" which matters, a free and fair vote of the people, in every state, has consistently demonstrated that the American people are for marriage, as the Hoosiers will once again confirm should they be given the chance to do so in 2014.

Indiana Senate Passes Marriage Amendment!

The Indiana State Senate just passed an amendment defining marriage as one man and one woman.

The final vote was 40-10.

3 Democrats joined 37 Republicans in voting for the amendment.

Local WIBC reports:

"The family is the basic unit of our society, and has been since Adam and Eve (were) created," Auburn Republican Dennis Kruse, who sponsored the amendment, says. "Marriage is, and should be, the union of one man and one woman."

Now it must pass the House and Senate again, after an intervening election (i.e. in either 2013 or 2014) to get to the people of Indiana in 2014.

Congratulations Indiana!

IN Senate gallery closed yesterday after gay protest

The Indiana State Senate public gallery had to be closed yesterday after gay protesters tried to disrupt the proceedings:

The Senate president closed the Senate gallery [yesterday] afternoon after the audience interrupted debate on a constitutional gay marriage ban by yelling, “stop hating, stop dividing, stop pandering.”

Senators were starting to discuss amendments to a resolution that would add a ban on gay marriage to the state’s constitution when one man in the balcony began shouting and others joined him. Senate President Pro Tem David Long then ordered the balcony seating closed. As they filed out, the roughly 40 audience members yelled “jobs not hate” — a statement on what they think the Senate’s priorities should be.

As we reported, the bill went on to survive attempts to amend (defeat) it.

Indiana Marriage Amendment Fends Off Challenges, Headed for Final Vote in Senate on Wednesday

Indiana's State Marriage Amendment (HJR 6 - read the text here) just fended off two attempts to amend it--which would have effectively killed it for this year because the House and Senate must pass identical language. The vote was 36 to 11 on straight party lines on each amendment, with one member "excused."

The floor vote in the Senate is expected on Wednesday and it looks good for passage.

Last week the Senate Judiciary Committee passed HJR 6 by a vote of 7-3.

Update - Micah Clark of the American Family Association of Indiana spoke with Charlie Butts of OneNewsNow about why it is important for Indiana to pass this Marriage amendment:

"I don't know if they realize yet that the Obama administration's decision not to defend DOMA really places Indiana at risk, because we don't have an amendment -- even though two-thirds of the states do," says the pro-family spokesman. "We are very vulnerable until this does go on the ballot and hopefully be passed by Hoosiers for a legal challenge to this."

The earliest the issue could go on the ballot is November 2014.

Press Release: NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MARRIAGE SLAMS CUMMINS, INC.’s MISLEADING TESTIMONY AGAINST INDIANA MARRIAGE AMENDMENT

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Cummins, Inc. a large manufacturing company headquartered in Columbus Indiana, sent an executive to testify against a state marriage amendment, claiming it would impede the company's ability to compete in the global marketplace and threaten legislators that the company would not expand jobs in Indiana if it passed. Today, in response to Cummins, Inc.’s outrageous testimony, the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) placed a full-sized ad in the Columbus Republic, issuing the following statement:

"Why would a big corporation like Cummins, Inc. try to keep the people of Indiana from voting on marriage? There is zero evidence that gay marriage helps, or state marriage amendments affect economic growth--as Cummins, Inc ought to know because they've just announced plans to expand in a state that has a marriage amendment," said Brian Brown, President of NOM. "We don't know why Cummins, Inc. would embarrass itself by making a claim like that, but we can tell you one thing: gay marriage is not an economic development plan and if your leaders think otherwise, your state's economy is in trouble," added Brown.

"Four of the five top states with job growth have marriage amendments and none have gay marriage," said Maggie Gallagher, Chairman of NOM, who authored the column reproduced in the Columbus Republic, "The small number of very liberal northeastern states who have embraced gay marriage tend to have high per capita incomes in part because job growth is so low that young families move out of state--most likely to a state with a marriage amendment and more robust economic growth."

See NOM's ad here:

NOM's Full Page Ad in Columbus (IND) Republic