Thanks to the generous support of its loyal supporters, Indiana Family Institute's (IFI) 2011 legislative programs achieved
tremendous success working on behalf of life, liberty, marriage and the family. This summary provides an outline of those
achievements. For more details, please visit our blog at
www.veritasrex.com and follow us on twitter:
www.twitter.com/IFIRyan.
Activists around the country are attempting to change the legal definition of marriage,
putting the liberties of citizens who disagree at risk. Right here in the Midwest, the State
of Iowa was forced into recognizing same-sex marriages. The passage of
HJR 6 takes
Indiana one step closer to defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman
within our constitution, once and for all.
Thanks to the generous support of its donors, IFI's legislative team played an integral
role in this culture-changing victory - from creating a marriage commission that selected the best available language to lobbying for its passage. IFI worked behind the scenes
with key legislators and allied organizations to ensure the legislation would not only
stop same-sex "marriage" and so called "civil unions," but also stand up to the inevitable
legal challenges that will be launched by homosexual activists. IFI worked at the capital
to strategize with and brief legislators who played key roles in passing the legislation
through committees and the entire IN House and Senate. IFI worked publicly to activate
its network of more than 600 pastors and churches as well as 13,000 grassroots supporters to pray and urge legislators to pass the bill.
HJR 6 passed the IN House 70-26 and the IN Senate 40-10.
Looking Ahead: The Marriage Amendment will need to pass the IN House and Senate again in 2013 in order to go on the ballot for
the voters in 2014. Marriage opponents will undoubtedly increase their efforts to defeat the Marriage Amendment as it gets closer
to the ballot. IFI is preparing to oppose those efforts. IFI will work to educate Hoosiers on the importance of marriage protection,
work with legislators to get the Marriage Amendment on the ballot in 2014, and our sister organizations (Indiana Family Action and
IFA PAC) will provide accountability when elected officials put marriage at risk.
"Passing the Marriage Amendment
by such overwhelming margins is
an exciting step in IFI's long-term
plan to ignite an enduring cultural
transformation. If pro-marriage
majorities in the Indiana General
Assembly are retained in November
2012, and the Marriage Amendment passes again in 2013 (placing
marriage on the ballot in 2014) we
hope to encourage a healthy debate
on the importance of marriage
within our society."
Curt Smith, President
INDIANA FAMILY INSTITUTE
