HJR-3 is cruel

Gay marriage is already illegal in the State of Indiana. I consider this a flaw and it's near top of the list of concerns that have kept my wife and I from considering a move to the Hoosier State.

What's even worse, is Brian Bosma's attempt to get the state constitution changed to forever define marriage as between a man and a woman. Gay marriage is already illegal, mind you. This is kicking somebody when they're down; a second "screw you" making something that's already illegal double-secret illegal. You'd think the small government types wouldn't waste the time, money and effort to re-illegal-ize something that is already illegal. But it's a salt-the-earth kind of approach; making it so it'll be much harder for reform to grow in the future. It means that supporters of gay marriage will have a much more difficult and more costly fight to attempt to repeal the constitutional amendment in the future.

My wife and I are heterosexual. Our gay friends, some of whom are married, have enriched our lives immensely. I wish for them to have the same opportunity for companionship, cohabitation, and partnership that we enjoy. I wish for them to have the same rights when it comes to taxes, funerals, and hospital visitation. Their marriage does not diminish ours in the least, and I find the arguments to the contrary to be silly. My marriage is between my wife and I; it has nothing to do with your marriage, or what your church thinks of marriage in general or my marriage in particular. From where I stand, that's none of your business and none of your concern.

A ban on gay marriage hurts good people. Peter Monn explains it better than I ever could:


He's not trying to deny your marriage. Why are you trying to deny his?

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