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The Indiana Senate Rules Committee has just voted, 8-4 across partisan lines, to send a highly-controversial and likely unconstitutional bill banning same-sex marriage to the full Senate for a vote. The Senate committee voted after hearing several hours of testimony from both sides, including the highly questionable testimony of Family Research Council‘s Peter Sprigg.
The legislation, HJR3, would ask voters to decide if they want to ban same-sex marriage in their state constitution. It might also ban civil unions and domestic partnerships.
LOOK:Â GOP Dirty Politics Moving Constitutional Ban On Same-Sex Marriage Forward
In January, after moving the bill around to various committees, Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma was able to get HJR3 passed in the full House.
Indiana is, of course, saddling itself with massive legal bills as this legislation will be appealed. Federal courts have repeatedly found such bans to b the result of anti-gay animus and unconstitutional. Utah and Oklahoma just two recent examples.
Indiana Senate Democratic Leader Tim Lanane, who voted against the bill, spoke eloquently, stating the bill’s “time has come and passed.”
“Do we allow HJR3, a bill from the past, to have a long lingering death or do we as a committee put it out of its misery?”
The committee voted to forward the bill to the full senate for a vote.
Because the bill does not include certain language, it likely would not be put before voters this November. That, of course, can change.
Once again to be clear: If the Senate passes the current version of #HJR3, it will NOT be on the ballot this November! #INLegis
— Freedom Indiana (@freedom_indiana) February 10, 2014