INDIANAPOLIS -- A proposal to ban gay marriage may not make it past the General Assembly, but advocates on both sides of the debate believe the issue will come up year after year until the state or federal government takes action.
State Sen. Brandt Hershman, who is sponsoring a constitutional amendment to make gay marriage illegal, said the issue will be debated as long as special interest groups challenge traditional marriage in courts.
''The debate should be with the voting public, not with the courts,'' Hershman, R-Wheatfield, said.
To change Indiana's constitution, two consecutive legislative sessions would have to approve the resolution and the public would have to approve it in a referendum.
Democrats in the House have said they won't take up the issue this year, and Democratic Gov. Joe Kernan has said current law doesn't need to be changed.
Hershman said he's received many comments about the topic, and said the ''vast majority are in favor of the (constitutional) amendment.''
Indianapolis resident Todd Rinehart, a gay man who spoke at a Senate committee meeting Tuesday, said there are Indiana residents who support same-sex marriages but may not speak out strongly about the topic.
He said he's not trying to destroy traditional marriage but wants a way to get the same rights married couples have, like property ownership, health insurance and hospital visitation.
Rinehart said the issue of gay marriage will be debated until the government takes action one way or another.
''It will continue to come back,'' he said. ''The issue is of importance to both sides.''
The emotional issue has already come before some Indiana courts.
Marion Superior Court Judge S.K. Reid ruled in May that Indiana's law ''promotes the state's interest in encouraging procreation to occur in a context where both biological parents are present to raise the child.''
The Indiana Civil Liberties Union and three same-sex couples appealed that ruling. The matter is currently before the Indiana Court of Appeals.
Conservative activist Eric Miller, who is seeking the GOP nomination for governor, urged senators to pass the resolution this year because he said there were threats to marriage from court rulings and laws passed in other states.
''Indiana must clearly define our laws rather than have some other state like Massachusetts do that for us,'' Miller said. ''I don't want to wait on the federal government to act.''
The Senate Criminal, Civil and Public Policy Committee passed the resolution 10-1.
It will have to pass the full Republican-controlled Senate before going to the Democrat-controlled House, where lawmakers say it will likely not get a hearing.
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