Comments on Advance Indiana™: House Rules Committee Kills SJR-7!

Oddly enough, Miller et al did get what they want....

2007-04-04T11:40:00.000-05:00

Oddly enough, Miller et al did get what they want. They were pushing for the amendment to get voted on as is- and it was. B)

Pretty soon Eli Lilly will announce that they have...

2007-04-04T06:33:00.000-05:00

Pretty soon Eli Lilly will announce that they have to move their headquarters out of Indiana because they can't count on Indiana law to protect their employees. Then the shit really hits the fan.

Pushing a minority report, or asking the House to ...

2007-04-04T06:16:00.000-05:00

Pushing a minority report, or asking the House to suspend Rules and allow a non-favorable Committee vote to come forward, is allowed under House Rules.

It's rare, and Bauer will fight it, but it happens. And it requires only 51 votes to do so. I believe in Congress, a super-majority is required for such nontraditional action.

That said, this is a tremendously great victory.

Diligence. Does anyone think Eric Miller really gave up yesterday?

The deadline for second reading is Monday. If we can survive without a floor-busting move through that, I'll bet we're home free, for this year.

Gird up for 08, though.

No, that's the point. The Constitution does NOT s...

2007-04-04T05:24:00.000-05:00

No, that's the point. The Constitution does NOT say that. And won't, if this amendment does not pass in 2008.

ok! why did the idiot democrats and republicans sp...

2007-04-03T23:12:00.000-05:00

ok! why did the idiot democrats and republicans spend this much time and money to come up with nothing?. the constitution says marriage is between a man and a woman and it stands as it should.

anon 10:23, the answer is yes. The amendment could...

2007-04-03T23:11:00.000-05:00

anon 10:23, the answer is yes. The amendment could still be voted out next year and eligible for adoption at the 2008 general election.

anyone know? I'm not an expert but, as i understa...

2007-04-03T22:23:00.000-05:00

anyone know? I'm not an expert but, as i understand, a const. amendment has to pass 2 separate assemblies (i.e. it has to pass in 07/or 08, after it already passed in 05/06) and then be voted on. I understand it could come back next year in 08 (assuming it's truly dead this year) and would meet the req. But assume not (now here's the question...): Does it have to be 2 "consecutive" assemblies? Or if doesn't pass in 07-08 (either this year or next) then could it come back in 09-10 and count as the "second assmebly") and tag onto the 05-06 passage?

"It is a courageous vote regardless of their opini...

2007-04-03T21:27:00.000-05:00

"It is a courageous vote regardless of their opinion on the issue of same-sex marriage because their Republican opponents will no doubt attack them for supporting gay marriage regardless of their explanation for their vote."

I see it completely differently.

Five legislators didn’t vote in favor of gay marriage.

Instead, five legislators voted to jeopardize domestic violence laws and to hurt Hoosier businesses and universities.

Remember, the best defense is a good offense. ;)

Use this vote against them.

Why do anonymous nobodies come in here in our time...

2007-04-03T20:48:00.000-05:00

Why do anonymous nobodies come in here in our time of celebration with their tired, repetitious, hostile comments? Give it a break, guys! Sheeesh...

"A same-sex marriage ban law today would be counte...

2007-04-03T20:23:00.000-05:00

"A same-sex marriage ban law today would be countered with a civil-union system. These are being passed in several states."

Are mormons and muslims finally allowed to join in union with multiple partners or are we still discriminating against certain folks?

"With time, opposition to "Homosexual marriage" wi...

2007-04-03T20:21:00.000-05:00

"With time, opposition to "Homosexual marriage" will fade away and LGBT folk can claim their full rights as American citizens."

By the time this happens, the Muslims will already have us by the balls. Guess what will happen to gays under Islamic Shaira Law? Germany and Ontario are already leaning toward allowing _some_ Shaira laws. The flood gates have cracked, we ain't seen nothing yet.

"The bigots who want to write discrimination into the Indiana Constitution to ban something already banned by the law are on the wrong side of history..."

These folks are equal to the bigots who force me to hire a certain amount of folks based on skin color, sex organ, etc. etc. or I will get slammed with a lawsuit claiming discrimination. Even if I prove there was no discrimination at all, I think the company is still stuck paying all their own legal fees. These bigots are also related to the bigots who, with threat of forced imprisonment, steal my money from me and give to layabouts, bums, and mopes. One day, this country might once again be the pinnacle for individual freedom and rights. Until then, it is nothing more than a concentration camp without the fence, forcing people to act in a way that the powers that be want them to act. I no longer care about this country. I will not fight for this country nor will I allow this corrupt anti-freedom government draft my kids to fight their wars. This is their multi-culture blissninnie paradise, so they can fight along side their kids.

The original law was passed in a surprise blitzkri...

2007-04-03T20:17:00.000-05:00

The original law was passed in a surprise blitzkrieg by the rightwingers. The gay movement was caught off-balance by that sneak onslaught years ago. It was so successful that the wingers are now trying for a repeat to cement it in place with constitutional amendments. Originally, there was little debate: same-sex marriage was then as preposterous as mixed-racial marriage used to be years before that.

The LGBT movement has been stymied nationally by the iron-grip of the reactionaries in the GOP Congress. Having an antagonistic President doesnt help either! There are movements to get some decent LGBT-friendly legislation through the newly-Democratic Congress. We shall see!

A same-sex marriage ban law today would be countered with a civil-union system. These are being passed in several states.

At the risk of sounding dramatic- it's not dead ye...

2007-04-03T20:08:00.000-05:00

At the risk of sounding dramatic- it's not dead yet. Like any good horror movie, the bad guy usually comes back for one more appearance. :P

But it's at least comforting to not have this breathing down our necks for a while.

Good. Now we can start over again with just part ...

2007-04-03T20:03:00.000-05:00

Good. Now we can start over again with just part one and get this thing on the books! I mean, no companies obviously care if part one passes, since I don't recall them making a peep when the state law was being debated.

There do exist arcane parliamentary tricks to "bla...

2007-04-03T19:07:00.000-05:00

There do exist arcane parliamentary tricks to "blast" a bill out of committee but they rarely succeed, especially if opposed by majority leadership (aka Pat Bauer).

I recall years ago Senator Julia Carson trying to blast the Dr. King Birthday Bill out of a reactionary committee. We had hundreds of demonstrators in the Atrium to back up her effort but it failed that year. Eventually we won!

Don, that's a good question. Not sure if this is c...

2007-04-03T19:01:00.000-05:00

Don, that's a good question. Not sure if this is correct, but I believe the minority can always file a separate minority report with the full House requesting that SJR-7 be reported favorably to the whole house. Typically, such motions are rejected on party line votes when it is offered by the party in the minority. Approval of the minority reports, however, is not without precedent. I've seen it happen at least a couple of times in the past.

The news is great, and many, many people deserve a...

2007-04-03T18:26:00.000-05:00

The news is great, and many, many people deserve a lot of credit, including you and your writings.

One question: When a committee "kills" a bill (including a failure due to a tie vote, is there a process to bring it up on the House floor anyway (by some greater than majority vote, etc.)?

It's not "dead", just stunned into immobility for ...

2007-04-03T18:22:00.000-05:00

It's not "dead", just stunned into immobility for a year. The damn thing will be reintroduced a year from now in the next session of the General Assembly. If (God forbid) it should pass that session, it will hit the voting machines in the 2008 fall election.

Indiana will be having a hot Governors race, 3 hot nationally-contested Congressional races, Indiana House races as well as the Presidential contest. The wingers really, really want to bring out the fundies for this hot 2008 election season.

Thank you, Bil, for all your efforts. It does feel...

2007-04-03T18:17:00.000-05:00

Thank you, Bil, for all your efforts. It does feel good.

Isn't it nice to finally win one since the HRO?I j...

2007-04-03T18:15:00.000-05:00

Isn't it nice to finally win one since the HRO?

I join in the congratulations to Gary for helping to keep this an issue that Hoosiers talked and read about for months. We couldn't have done it without you, Gary! Great job!

I have a post up now too about SJR-7's defeat. I also posted on the AVA site and BlueIndiana. :) Let's sound this one from the rooftops!

It's hard to beleive... it doesn't seem real!5 vot...

2007-04-03T18:11:00.000-05:00

It's hard to beleive... it doesn't seem real!

5 votes and its dead.
Like the Wicked Witch of the West in the 'The Wizard of Oz' - splash and 'poof!' gone. dead.

Wow! Thanks to everyone: Gary, Both Chris', Bil, Jerame, Randy, Jon, Linda, Julie, Kevin, Jeff, Kathy, and everyone!!

Thanks Tracy, Wilson and others for your kind comm...

2007-04-03T17:49:00.000-05:00

Thanks Tracy, Wilson and others for your kind comments. It became quite a group effort which paid real dividends this time.

I join in the kudos to you, Gary, and other blogge...

2007-04-03T17:47:00.000-05:00

I join in the kudos to you, Gary, and other bloggers for exposing the flaws in this silly amendment. This is why you need to keep going when it seems like it doesn't matter.

Yay!Gary, great job on keeping this in the forefro...

2007-04-03T17:43:00.000-05:00

Yay!

Gary, great job on keeping this in the forefront. W/o this blog, the Star doesn't FINALLY get around to asking questions about part 2 and the universities, corporations and DV advocates, w/o the Star finally getting around to it legislators don't hear from them, and this passes through just like last time.

By they way, we all owe Gary and other "scriveners...

2007-04-03T17:41:00.000-05:00

By they way, we all owe Gary and other "scriveners" a great debt of thanks for their legal work in deconstructing SJR-7 and its pretentious and fuzzy second sentence.

Thanks, dude!