Memo To Rep. Terri Austin: We’re Not Going to Forget Your vote on SJR 7
It’s organization day and for SJR 7 supporters, like myself, that means we’re looking forward to what will undoubtedly be a tough battle to let Hoosiers vote on SJR 7-the marriage amendment. Last year Speaker B. Patrick property-tax-decrease Bauer (D-South Bend) failed to uphold his promise to allow a floor vote on SJR 7. Bauer can try to deflect the responsiblity for this failure by pointing out that it was the Rules Committee that ultimately failed to send it to the floor. However, he assigned it to that committee and he could have instructed Rep. Scott Pelath (D-Michigan City), to do everything he could do as committee chair to make sure it got to the floor.
Furthermore, it was the critical swing vote of Rep. Terri Austin (D-Anderson) that let Hoosiers down and partially let Bauer off the hook. In 2005 Rep. Austin had no problem voting for SJR 7. She even pointed out in the 2006 campaign that she was a strong supporter of SJR 7. A few months after her re-election though, Austin, probably under a lot of pressure from her caucus (ie: Bauer and Pelath) buckled and voted against bringing SJR 7 to the floor of the House.
With an election looming next November, the American Family Assocation of IN PAC has put up a banner near a major intersection in Anderson reminding constituents of Rep. Austin’s failure to support SJR 7. While I can’t speak for others, I do know that if Austin does end up having the chance to vote on SJR 7 in committee and ends up being the swing vote that allows us to get a floor vote, marriage amendment supporters will reduce the pressure they have put on her.
Here’s the AFA-IN PAC Banner:
November 21st, 2007 at 9:08 am
How do you guys call yourself conservative, but want to pass one of the most liberal expansions of government in our generation. The government should not be legislating our private lives, and I think you know that. Just because your afraid of gay people does not mean you get to persecute them. Austin and all the legislators should spend their time on more important things, lowering property taxes, reforming local gov’t, lowering the income tax, fostering economic development. Not sending a message of intolerance.
November 21st, 2007 at 11:12 am
Welcome Reasonable Republican. I’m pleased that you decided to join our conversation here at Hoosier Access. We are a conservative site, but we know that we’ll have Republicans of all stripes who decided to check out the site and we encourage their participation.
I understand we have differing views on the Marriage Amendment, which if you look at the issue from a Federalist perspective, Indiana is handling this issue in proper fashion; at the State level. If there is anything I am intolerant of, it’s <em>ad hominem</em> attacks against people who approve of the marriage amendment. It may be true that some of the supporters are, as you say “afraid of gay people”, but I assure you that I and those of us who run this site are not afraid of gay people.
The people I know care deeply for those who choose the homosexual lifestyle. Gay people are humans too who deserve respect and struggle with sin just like I do. What we are doing by supporting legislation like SJR7 is defending marriage, which is a God-Ordained institution, but in this fallen world, has been co-opted by the state.
In all honesty, I believe that marriage falls under the auspices of the Church and it was the State who started to interfere in the first place. In fact, you’ll find that prior to the Civil War, no one needed a marriage certificate to get married because it was handled by the church. It was only after that states started mandating that certificates be ordered. If you really do the digging, you’ll even find the dirty secret as to why the state made such an order.
So even though I believe marriage should be under the church, even more hay would be made over that if that’s what the marriage amendment was really about. I and many others are willing to play the hand that’s been dealt to us. So we continue to fight for marriage at the legislative level.
November 21st, 2007 at 1:48 pm
I don’t understand this. You say you are republican, however, you propose legislating personal choice, expanding gov’t. I strongly disagree w/ you on the defending marriage line. No one is “attacking” marriage. If two homosexuals decided to spend the rest of their lives together a heterosexual marriage is affected in no way. That is the simple truth. So I do not understand why the far right wants to high jack the party and distract us from important issues. You know as well as me that this issue will cripple this party. If we let gay marriage become the driving force of the republican party we will be irrelevant in 20 years.
November 21st, 2007 at 2:14 pm
Reasonable Republican, if our party stands up for marriage and the family and protects traditional marriage by supporting SJR 7, we will not be irrelevant in 20 years. If we focus our attention solely on fiscal and national security issues, and refuse to take a principled stand in favor of Judeo-Christian principles, we will be irrelevant in 20 years.
What we are seeing here with the debate about the definition of marriage is a clash between two moral systems. One system says that whatever people do has no affect on society, the other system says that traditional morality must be upheld because it is the government’s job to uphold absolute principles.
I’m not against gay people, rather, I think we need to reach out to them and let them know that they don’t have to live a destructive lifestyle in order to find happiness in life. Many of the supporters of the marriage amendment are not hateful people, we just believe that marriage isn’t something that government can redefine.
You will also note that this issue was not brought up by Republicans. Individuals and groups got together and started challenging marriage and socially conservative Republicans had to respond to those attacks.
What two people do in their own bedroom is important because it impacts not only themselves but those around them. When the state sanctions gay marriage it effectively sends the signal to society that mom’s and dad’s don’t matter and that you can do whatever you want and expect everyone else to approve.
I would be curious to know whether you or not you are pro-life or pro-abortion.