Marriage Amendment Moves to House Floor
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe House Elections and Apportionment Committee has passed a proposed amendment to the state constitution to further define marriage. The 9-3 vote follows House Speaker Brian Bosma's (R-88) decision to move the proposal from the House Judiciary Committee. It now goes to the House floor. Many major employers in the state oppose the amendment saying it will negatively impact efforts to attract top talent. Our partners at WTHR-TV in Indianapolis report the hearing brought hundreds of people to the Statehouse. January 22, 2014
News Release
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Freedom Indiana campaign manager Megan Robertson issued the following statement on today's vote to approve HJR-3, Indiana's divisive, anti-freedom marriage amendment, through a new committee with barely 24 hours notice.
House Speaker Brian Bosma announced yesterday that the amendment would be moved from the House Judiciary Committee, which heard hours of testimony last week before recessing without a vote, to the House Elections and Apportionment Committee. He made it clear the committee switch was to make sure there would be enough votes to move the amendment to the House floor.
“We're disappointed, but we're more disappointed in the jury-rigged process than the outcome today. The traditional legislative path for this divisive amendment was completely upended when Speaker Bosma decided he had to switch committees to shore up enough Republican votes to move it to the floor.
“But we are not deterred, and we will continue our fight against HJR-3 for as long as it takes to defeat this harmful amendment.
“Lawmakers heard today from Hoosiers whose lives will be directly and negatively affected if this language is enshrined in our Constitution, and those voices will only grow stronger the longer the issue of protecting our friends, neighbors and families is up for debate.”
Freedom Indiana is a bipartisan statewide organization that champions liberty for all Hoosiers. The organization is opposed to an amendment that would permanently alter the Indiana Constitution to define marriage and could potentially affect hundreds of protections related to marriage under current Indiana law. Freedom Indiana launched in August 2013.
Source: Freedom Indiana
News Release
January 23, 2014
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -Eric Miller, the Founder and Executive Director of Advance America, commends the 9 members of the House Elections Committee for passing the Marriage Protection Amendment, HJR 3, on January 22, 2014.
Eric Miller testified in support of HJR 3 and issued the following statement after the vote by the Elections Committee.
“9 members of the Indiana House Elections Committee did the right thing for the people of Indiana when they voted to pass the Marriage Protection Amendment, HJR 3, on Wednesday, January 22, 2014. The people of Indiana deserve the right to be able to vote on November 4, 2014 to protect marriage between one man and one woman.”
Advance America will continue to let the citizens of Indiana know what is happening at the State House on HJR 3 and how their elected officials vote in committee and on the floor of the House and Senate.
With this in mind, Advance America will not only send out information on how the legislators vote to their extensive statewide grassroots network of individuals and churches, but they will also be providing video links explaining the legislative process and how legislators voted.
In explaining why Advance America will be producing videos showing how individual legislators vote in committee and on the floor, Eric Miller stated, “All too often legislators will say one thing to constituents when they are running for office and when they are back in their district about their position on a specific issue like HJR 3; and then when they get to the State House they vote differently. Advance America, through their emails, website and online videos, will help enable Hoosiers around the state to know what is happening at their State House and how their legislators voted.”
ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND:
Eric Miller, an attorney, founded Advance America in 1980 with a handful of other individuals. Presently, Advance America is the largest grassroots network of Hoosiers supporting traditional values along with family, church and tax reform issues. Eric has provided educational resources to hundreds of thousands of Hoosier citizens including educational seminars for students and adults, citizen rallies at the Indiana State House, along with non-partisan Voter Guides and Voting Records for over three decades. Advance America is a non-partisan, educational organization that does not endorse any candidate or political party.
Source: Advance America