By Deanna Martin

A.P. writer

INDIANAPOLIS—An effort to amend the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage faces a pivotal hurdle in the Indiana General Assembly this year, but whether it advances could hinge on the willingness of Indiana House leaders to take it up in a session in which property taxes are the top priority.

Ind. State Sen. Brandt Hershman (R-Wheatfield), who has helped the proposal pass the Indiana Senate three times, has again filed a resolution calling for the amendment. But Hershman said the House should take up the issue first.

“The stumbling block has been consideration in the House,” Hershman said. “Whatever issues need to be worked out, need to be worked out in the House.”

Rep. Eric Turner (R-Gas City) plans to file the proposal in the Democrat-controlled House.

“My desire is to give every opportunity for the House to vote on it,” Turner said.

House Speaker Patrick Bauer (D-South Bend) said Jan. 8 that he is willing to assign the proposal to a committee for consideration. But he has said repeatedly that he doesn’t see the need for the constitutional amendment when state law already bans such unions.

“I don’t know of any legal gay marriages in the state of Indiana, so obviously the state law is working,” he said.

Amending Indiana’s constitution requires a resolution to pass consecutive, separately elected General Assemblies and then be approved in a statewide vote.

The legislature first passed the proposal in 2005, when Republicans controlled both chambers. It was approved in the Republican-ruled Senate last session but failed to pass a Democrat-controlled committee on a 5-5 vote.

If the proposal passes this session, it would be eligible for a statewide vote in the 2008 general election. If not, the amendment process would have to start from scratch, and the earliest it could be eligible for a statewide vote would be 2012.

Public support for the measure appears to be declining, according to a statewide telephone poll conducted in November.

The Indianapolis Star-WTHR poll found 49 percent supported such a constitutional amendment, down from 56 percent in a March 2005 survey. The telephone poll of 600 adults was conducted Nov. 13-16 by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, Iowa, and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Walter Botich, legislative chair for the GLBT advocacy group Indiana Equality, said many people think lawmakers have more important issues this session, including property tax relief.

“Some of these wedge issues—they no longer seem important any more,” Botich said. “This issue is a political one, and I think a lot of people have seen through that.”

The proposed amendment contains two parts. The first states that marriage in Indiana is the union of one man and one woman. The second includes a phrase that says state law “may not be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents of marriage be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups.”

Opponents have argued that the amendment could have unintended consequences on domestic violence laws or domestic partner benefits offered at some companies and universities. Supporters of the amendment say court rulings in other states have helped clear up those issues.