Monroe County commissioners board comes out in opposition to H.J.R. 3

The Monroe County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously in opposition to House Joint Resolution 3, a bill that would define marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman.
“Discrimination in all its forms has no place in our society,” the press release reads. “H.J.R. 3’s ban on same sex marriage ... signals that Indiana is a state that is neither open or welcoming.”
The vote by the board of commissioners took place Friday.
H.J.R. 3 would amend the Indiana Constitution to prohibit same-sex marriages or the creation of other similar statuses, such as civil unions.
In its statement, the board cited the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article 1, Section 23 of the Indiana Constitution, which reads “The General Assembly shall not grant to any citizen, or class of citizens, privileges or immunities, which, upon the same terms, shall not equally belong to all citizens.”
After passing in a committee last Wednesday, H.J.R. 3 is scheduled to move to a second reading in the Indiana House of Representatives today.

— Mary Katherine Wildeman