By Abdul Hakim-Shabazz
IndyPoltics.Org

I have to give it to Indiana lawmakers. Just when I think they are about to do something that is not only silly, but politically short-sighted, they pull themselves back from the brink. In this case, it was the marriage amendment.

Abdul Hakim-Shabazz is an attorney and the editor and publisher of IndyPoltics.Org.

You know what I mean. The Senate voted Monday 32-17 to pass House Joint Resolution 3 in its amended form.

The amendment originally stated “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.”

The House voted to remove the second sentence and the Senate decided not to change it back. By making the change and sticking with it, the lawmakers made sure HJR 3 won’t appear on the ballot at the earliest until 2016, if it does at all.  There was some talk that supporters would have tried try to defeat it on the Senate floor, but that was only talk.

By punting this issue – which by the way is not the first time, because they did it about a littleover a year ago – we can now truly focus on things that matter.

State revenues are coming up short again, so that will have a serious impact on Indiana’s financial health. Officials are trying to figure out what to do about the possible reduction/elimination of the business personal property tax and minimize the impact on local governments. Early childhood education and the skills gap are always major concerns. Mass transit is an issue. We need to continue to reform the criminal code. We have to figure out a long-term solution on how to pay for roads with less revenue coming from gas taxes as we drive more fuel efficient cars. And Sunday alcohol sales would be nice too.

Okay, I had to throw that one in.

This is not to say these issues aren’t being addressed, but let’s face, HJR 3 was the 362-kilogram gorilla in the room that was sucking up all the oxygen; which is really annoying for an issue that wasn’t supposed to a priority.

And if this issue comes up again in 2015 or 2016, the time and trends work against HJR 3 supporters.  According to Gallup, back in 1996, nearly 70 percent of Americans opposed same-sex marriage; the most recent poll put support at 52 percent.  HJR 3 supporters know this, which is why they had been trying to move heaven and earth to get this on the ballot because they know they were running up against the clock and time was not on their side.

I’ll be shocked if this issue comes up ever again. It is a giant waste of time and distracts from the real work lawmakers are doing that actually helps create jobs, improves the state’s economic environment and improves the quality of education. Those are the types of things that will make Indiana a much better place to live and will carry it into the future.  HJR 3 did none of that. Good riddance to bad idea. And even if it was only kicked down a couple years, in reality it was pushed that much closer to ashes of history.

Abdul is an attorney and the editor and publisher of IndyPoltics.Org. He is also a frequent contributor to numerous Indiana media outlets. He can be reached at abdul@indypolitics.org.