Will Indiana Do The Right Thing?

Will Indiana Do The Right Thing?

The Indiana House Judiciary Committee is deciding whether the state will go to the trouble and expense to pursue a state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

The committee, whose membership includes state Reps. Thomas Washburne, R-Evansville, and Wendy McNamara, R-Mount Vernon, will weigh the language of the proposed ban, formerly known as House Joint Resolution 6 but filed this session as House Joint Resolution 3. The committee also will review a companion bill to the proposed amendment that Republican legislative leaders say explains its intent and helps clear up concerns over how the amendment will affect the state.

Supporters are hoping the companion bill will help reassure lawmakers who are concerned about the amendment’s second sentence, which also bans civil unions or other arrangements “substantially similar” to marriage.

The House Judiciary Committee may be opponents’ best chance to stop the amendment in the legislature. All four Democrats on the committee have opposed the amendment, with former Speaker Patrick Bauer (D-South Bend) announcing he’ll vote against it after casting a yes vote in 2011. Three of the nine Republicans would have to join them to kill the ban.

Two separately-elected General Assemblies must approve the amendment before it can go to a statewide referendum. If the same wording is passed this session, the amendment will go on the November ballot.

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There is hope that someday soon the state of Indiana will it’s grant LGBT residents the dignity of of having the right to marry the person they choose. Until then, LGBT couples living in Indiana (and most other states) remain without any legal protections whatsoever – unless they go to the effort and expense of getting specific legal documents, i.e., living will and medical power of attorney (to empower a partner to make medical decisions and have hospital visitation rights), last will and testaments and/or living trust (to leave property to a partner) and other supporting documents that empower a partner to make decisions about finances, burial and cremation and many other rights denied to same-sex partners who live in non-marriage equality states.

For the most part, couples who can afford these documents will get them. Many LGBT couples are struggling financially because of the economic downturn. For them, Rainbow Law’s state-specific will and trust packages provide an affordable alternative – and their free advance directives are available to any LGBT person who asks.

If you or anyone you know needs legal documents to empower and protect an LGBT relationship, you really ought to give Rainbow Law a try.