Indiana Bigotry

Hoosiers should be infuriated by the Indiana State Senate’s flagrant disregard for the separation of church and state.\nLast week, the Indiana State Senate passed two bills and one joint resolution, all of which are motivated by religious beliefs. This first column in what will be a series explains Senate Joint Resolution 7, and what we, the citizens, can do about it.\nJoint Resolution 7 passed through the Senate last Tuesday. The resolution approves an amendment to the Indiana State Constitution which defines marriage as between a man and a woman, and stipulates that no other Indiana law may be construed to confer the legal status of marriage upon unmarried couples of any sort.\nAs we anticipate the presidential election in hopes of change from a new leader, it is easy to forget that we live in an age where state laws determine our circumstances as much as federal laws. So for a moment, stop drooling over Barack Obama; I’ll wipe the tears shed over John Edwards; let’s focus on politics here in Indiana.\nIn Hoosierland, the elected officials of our state are a bunch of religious fanatics, morons and bigots.\nJoint Resolution 7 is the manifestation of far-right religious beliefs that hold being gay is immoral. Some religious fanatics believe gay people choose to be gay. I think religious fanatics choose to be hateful bigots, but that’s just my personal belief. I wouldn’t want to codify that into our state law.\nMore than just a hostile gesture to the LGBT community, Joint Resolution 7 denies equal rights to gay couples. Without the right to marry, gay couples cannot receive the same economic and health care benefits from jobs or pensions, nor do they have the same hospital visitation or inheritance rights as straight married couples.\nCivil marriage is a legal, not a religious, institution. When two people get married, they enter into a new economic and legal union recognized by the state, and are endowed with rights they would not have as individuals.\nThe past few general elections have been littered with marriage-amendment resolutions like Indiana’s Joint Resolution 7. In 2006, eight states had a marriage amendment on the ballot, and all but Arizona voted to ratify it. If the Indiana House also approves the measure, we vote on Joint Resolution 7 in November.\nAs college students, we must form massive student coalitions between like-minded groups (feminists, GLBT groups, civil rights groups) to launch a state-wide campaign to educate voters about the issue before they get to the ballot in November. \nWe must apply for grants from the ACLU, Human Rights Watch, etc, to get ads in newspapers and funding for canvassing. \nThen, it’s out to the neighborhoods of Indiana to knock door-to-door.\nOur selling point is that ‘defining marriage’ has nothing to do with marriage, and everything to do with civil rights. By prohibiting gay couples from marriage, this amendment renders Indiana’s gay community second-class citizens, just like minority groups and women before them. \nIf the voters see this as an equality issue, we can defeat this amendment.