Urging General Assembly to Reject the Proposed State Constitutional Amendment Permanently Defining Marriage

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RESOLUTION NO. 3 t -t -1 A RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, URGING THE INDIANA GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO REJECT THE PROPOSED STATE CONSTITUTUIONAL AMENDMENT PERMANENTLY DEFINING MARRIAGE the South Bend Common Council notes that in 2011, the Indiana General Assembly adopted House Joint Resolution No. 6 ( "HJR 6 "), which would add a new Section 38 to Article I of the Indiana Constitution, which would read as follows: "Section 38. Only a marriage between one (1) man and one (1) woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Indiana. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized "; and in order to become effective, HJR 6 must be voted on again and have identical language passed by the 2014 General Assembly, and then ratified by a majority of those voting on the question during the November 2014 General Election; and if passed by popular vote, it would be added to the Indiana Constitution; and Qf)" it should be noted that Indiana Code § 31- 11- 1 -1(a) already provides that, "Only a female may marry a male. Only a male may marry a female "; and was upheld against a state constitutional challenge in Morrison v. Sadler, 821 N.E. 2d 15 (Ind. Ct. App. 2005); and Q6" on August 21, 2013, a coalition of Indiana businesses and groups announced the formation of Freedom Indiana, a bi- partisan statewide organization, including two (2) of Indiana's largest employers, Eli Lilly and Company and Cummins, Inc. who oppose HJR 6; and 4 several legislative bodies have adopted resolutions voicing their opposition to HJR 6 including but not limited to the Indianapolis City- County Council adopting a Resolution by a 22 -6 vote on November 10, 2013; Evansville New Albany Common Council adopting a resolution on November 21, 2013; Common Council adopting Resolution No. C -2013 on December 9, 2013; Bloomington Common Council adopting Resolution No. 13 -15 on December 4, 2013; and as of January 1, 2014 eleven (11) Indiana Mayors have publicly voiced their opposition to HJR -6 who are the administrative leaders of Angola, Anderson, Bloomington, Carmel, Fort Wayne, Hammond, Indianapolis, Kokomo, South Bend, Valparaiso, and West Lafayette; and 46" South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg has publicly stated that "Indiana's constitution exists in order to protect rights and freedoms, not take them away. Our state must be welcoming and respectful of all individuals, or we will be left behind. Changing the constitution in order to deny certain protections to some Hoosier families would send the exact wrong message as we work to grow and develop a competitive economy in cities like South Bend. "; and