The Indiana Senate is considering legislation that would put the rights of the state's gay citizens on the ballot. That's not sitting well. Yesterday, a group of protesters caused the Senate to shut its gallery:
The Senate closed its gallery Monday after protests disrupted a hearing on a proposal to add a ban on gay marriage and civil unions to the state constitution.The gays aren't going to play along in Indiana.
Senate President Pro Tempore David Long, R-Fort Wayne, ordered the roughly 40 audience members expelled from the Senate balcony after they began chanting "stop hating, stop dividing, stop pandering."
Senators were considering changes to the measure -- proposed by Sen. Tim Lanane, D-Anderson -- that would have eliminated the ban on civil unions, so that the constitution would ban only same-sex marriage. Senators voted that idea down 36-11.
The Senate will probably vote on the marriage amendment later this week. But, that's not the end of it. Before it gets on the ballot, the amendment will have to pass through the House and Senate again in the next session, after the 2012 election.
Between now and then, all those anti-gay legislators better be on their best behavior. Bil Browning is watching. Ask State Rep. Jud McMillin.
