Let the People Decide
To be honest, I’ve never been a big fan of referendums. I believe that in a representative democracy you elect people to make decisions and if you don’t like it, throw them out of office and get new people. However, the world we live in is the world we live in. Indiana lawmakers have completed step one of a three step process to enshrine into the Indiana Constitution that marriage shall be between one man and one woman. So that means that sometime in 2014, there’s a 1 in 3 chance that Hoosiers will go to the polls and vote on the “marriage amendment”.
The language is pretty simple on its face…
Marriage. Provides that only marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Indiana. Provides that a legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized. This proposed amendment has not been previously agreed to by a general assembly.
Proponents say this is necessary to defend “traditional” marriage and protect the family. Opponents say it enshrines discrimination into the state Constitution and makes Indiana less inviting. Frankly, I subscribe to the theory that if you don’t like gay marriage, don’t marry someone who is gay. However, there’s a little more to it than that.
I truly believe this a generational issue. My parents, who are in their 70s can’t fathom the idea of same-sex marriage, even though they were active in the civil rights movement. My nieces and nephews who are teenagers frankly don’t care. Those attitudes are reflected in a lot of the polling data that I have seen, younger don’t see what the big deal is, while older folks just can’t come to terms with the idea. The fight over the marriage amendment will be won or lost with the 40-55 crowd. And even then I think it comes down to how libertarian your attitude is toward marriage. Now of course there are always exceptions to the rule.
So why not let the people vote on this one. Let both sides put together their political campaigns and take it to the voters and turn out their supporters. And even opponents suffer a loss in 2014; if I were them I’d wait until 2020 and give it a shot at repeal. By then attitudes will have changed and most of the proponents will be dead.
