Gov. Mike Pence Wants Senate To Restore Second Sentence Of Marriage Discrimination Amendment

Gov. Mike Pence won't be satisfied if the present form of HJR-3 passed earlier this week by the Indiana House of Representatives, which adds Indiana's Defense of Marriage Act barring legal recognition of same-sex marriages to the Indiana Constitution's Bill of Rights, is not amended in the Senate to restore the second sentence stripped from the proposed constitutional amendment. That's what he said this week during an interview with WISH-TV's Jim Shella. That second sentence removed from the proposed amendment went beyond the state's Defense of Marriage Act to also ban legal recognition of any benefits similar to marriage for same-sex couples, such as civil unions or domestic partner benefits. In other words, he wants the General Assembly to pass HJR-3 as long as it will appear on this year's November ballot instead of the November 2016 ballot when he expects to be a candidate for re-election as governor.