Same-sex marriage in Indiana has been legally recognized since October 6, 2014. The state had previously restricted

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

to different-sex couples by

statute A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...

in 1986. By legislation passed in 1997, it denied recognition to same-sex relationships established in other jurisdictions. A lawsuit challenging the state's refusal to grant

marriage license A marriage license (or marriage licence in Commonwealth spelling) is a document issued, either by a religious organization or state authority, authorizing a couple to marry. The procedure for obtaining a license varies between jurisdiction ...

s to same-sex couples, ''

Baskin v. Bogan ''Baskin v. Bogan'', the lead Indiana case challenging that state's denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples, was filed in federal district court on March 12, 2014, naming several government officials as defendants. Chief Judge Richard L. ...

'', won a favorable ruling from the

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana The United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana (in case citations, S.D. Ind.) is a federal district court in Indiana. It was created in 1928 by an act of Congress that split Indiana into two separate districts, northern and ...

on June 25, 2014. Until the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals granted an emergency stay of the district court's ruling on June 27, most

Indiana counties There are 92 counties in the U.S. state of Indiana. Each county serves as the local level of government within its borders. Although Indiana was organized into the United States since the Northwest Ordinance in 1787, its land was not always avail ...

issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The Seventh Circuit affirmed the district court's ruling in ''Baskin'' on September 4. A ruling in ''Bowling v. Pence'' stated that the state must recognize same-sex marriages performed out-of-state and the decision was stayed until the Seventh Circuit ruled on the merits in similar cases. It also stated that the ruling would remain stayed if the circuit court stayed its decision in the related cases.Bowling v. Pence District Court ruling
/ref> The

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

declined to consider an appeal in ''Baskin v. Bogan'' on October 6, which allowed the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals to implement its decision requiring

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

to license and recognize

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

Legal history

Statutory restrictions

Indiana passed a same-sex marriage ban in 1986. A law enacted in 1997 forbade the recognition of same-sex marriages established in jurisdictions outside Indiana. On November 26, 2012, Indiana Equality Action published a study researched by law students from the LGBT Project at the

Indiana University Maurer School of Law The Indiana University Maurer School of Law is located on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. The school is named after Michael S. "Mickey" Maurer, an Indianapolis businessman and 1967 alumnus who donated $35 million in 2008 ...

titled "More Than Just a Couple: 614 Reasons Why Marriage Equality Matters in Indiana." The study detailed the rights and responsibilities of

civil marriage A civil marriage is a marriage performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official. Such a marriage may be performed by a religion, religious body and recognized by the state, or it may be entirely secular. History Every country maintai ...

found in 614 laws in the Indiana Code. It said that these laws show that marriage discrimination in the state not only denies many legal rights to same-sex couples but also denies the public protection from conflicts of interest from activities that are prohibited for opposite-sex married couples but not for same-sex couples. In January 2017, Representative Jim Lucas introduced a bill removing the state's same-sex marriage ban and replacing references to "husband and wife" with the

gender-neutral Gender neutrality (adjective form: gender-neutral), also known as gender-neutralism or the gender neutrality movement, is the idea that policies, language, and other social institutions (social structures or gender roles) should avoid distinguish ...

term "spouses". The bill was assigned to the House Judiciary Committee on January 9, 2017, but was not heard in committee. A similar bill was introduced in January 2023 by Senator Andrea Hunley.

Constitutional amendment proposals

Since 2004, there have been several efforts on behalf of a

constitutional amendment A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, t ...

banning same-sex marriage in Indiana; none of which have been successful. In 2010, such a proposal passed the Indiana Senate in a 38–10 vote, but the House of Representatives, which had a Democratic majority, took no action, failing even to schedule a hearing on the legislation. In 2011, a similar proposal passed the House 70–26 and the Senate 40–10. The text adopted was: The approval of an identical amendment by both chambers during the 2013-2014 legislative session was required to place the amendment on the state ballot in November 2014. In December 2012, Governor Mitch Daniels, without taking a position on the proposed amendment, said that business leaders had expressed concern that it would restrict their policies toward same-sex couples. He said: "They wouldn't want their ability to offer benefits and that sort of thing limited. They think it's fair. They think it's important at least in case of some of their employees." On October 28, 2013,

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

announced its opposition to the proposed amendment. In November 2013, legislative leaders announced that the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

would address the amendment in its next session. House Speaker

Brian Bosma Brian C. Bosma (born October 31, 1957) is an American politician and lawyer who served as speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives from 2004 to 2006 and 2010 to 2020. A member of the Republican Party, Bosma has served in the Indiana Hou ...

, a proponent of the measure, said that "This is not the most important issue facing us by far. We have to deal with the issue with dignity and respect... and bring this 12-year discussion to a conclusion." On December 4, the six

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

bishops of Indiana issued a statement that, without referencing the legislation, reiterated their position that marriage is "the intimate communion of life and love between one man and one woman." The language of the joint resolution was introduced in the 2014 legislative session as ''HJR3'' on January 9. A companion bill was also introduced that provided clarifying language directing that the proposed constitutional amendment would ban same-sex marriages and civil unions but not

domestic partnership A domestic partnership is a legal relationship, usually between couples, who live together and share a common domestic life, but are not married (to each other or to anyone else). People in domestic partnerships receive benefits that guarantee r ...

s. Bosma said it was aimed at reassuring universities and localities that the benefits they provide employees under the designation "domestic partners" would not be affected by the adoption of the constitutional amendment, though other lawmakers disputed whether the language of the bill, if adopted, could control the interpretation of the constitutional amendment. The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the proposed amendment on January 13, but took no vote. On January 21, Bosma moved the proposed amendment to the Elections and Apportionment Committee. On January 22, that committee approved the proposed amendment by a vote of 9 to 3 with one absence. On January 27, the Indiana House voted 52–43, with 29 Democrats and 23

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

in favor, to remove the second sentence, which would have banned civil unions, from the amendment. On January 28, the House approved the shortened version in a 57–40 vote. On February 10, the Senate Rules Committee approved the identical one-sentence version in an 8–4 vote, and the Senate approved that version in a 32–17 vote on February 17. The text adopted was: As the text of the amendment had been modified, approval in the 2015-2016 session was required in order to place the measure on the ballot. However, the General Assembly took no further action on the amendment and it was never placed on the ballot.

Lawsuits

State lawsuits

A lawsuit, ''Morrison v. Sadler'', brought in 2002 by the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

(ACLU) on behalf of 3 same-sex couples seeking marriage rights and challenging a 1986 law that limited marriages to opposite-sex couples failed in the Marion County Superior Court in May 2003. The judge ruled that restricting marriage to different-sex couples "promotes the state's interest in encouraging procreation to occur in a context where both biological parents are present to raise the child." Two of the couples had formed civil unions in Vermont in 2000. The ruling was upheld by the

Indiana Court of Appeals The Indiana Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court for the state of Indiana. It is the successor to the Indiana Appellate Court. History The Indiana Appellate Court was created by the Indiana General Assembly by statute in 18 ...

on January 20, 2005. After the ruling by the Court of Appeals in January 2005, when the third couple had formed a Vermont civil union and one couple had married in Canada as well, the plaintiffs decided not to

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...

to the

Indiana Supreme Court The Indiana Supreme Court, established by Article 7 of the Indiana Constitution, is the highest judicial authority in the state of Indiana. Located in Indianapolis, Indiana, Indianapolis, the Court's chambers are in the north wing of the Indiana ...

to avoid a negative outcome there that might influence other state courts. On December 23, 2013, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled in ''In Re: Marriage of Melanie Davis'' that Indiana's law banning same-sex marriage could not be used to invalidate a marriage if one spouse later changes their

legal gender Legal gender, or legal sex, is a sex or gender that is recognized under the law. Biological sex, sex reassignment and gender identity are used to determine legal gender. The details vary by jurisdiction. History In European societies, Roman ...

Federal lawsuits

Five same-sex marriage lawsuits were filed in the

in March 2014: ''Love v. Pence'', ''Baskin v. Bogan'', ''Fujii v. Pence'', ''Bowling v. Pence'', and ''Lee v. Pence''.

=''Baskin v. Bogan''

= ''

'' was filed in the Southern District of Indiana on March 14, 2014 by Lambda Legal on behalf of two same-sex couples, all women. The defendants were the

Indiana Attorney General The Indiana Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of Indiana in the United States. Attorneys General are chosen by a statewide general election to serve for a four-year term. The forty-fourth and Attorney General is Todd Roki ...

, Greg Zoeller, and three county clerks, with one of the county clerks, Penny Bogan, in her official capacity, as the first-named defendant. It took precedence over the other Indiana marriage cases, because one of the plaintiffs was terminally ill with

ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different c ...

, though the case of her and her partner was soon separated from that of the other plaintiffs. On June 25, 2014, Judge

Richard L. Young Richard Lee Young (born January 3, 1953) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. Education and career Born in Davenport, Iowa, Young received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dra ...

ruled with respect to the remaining plaintiffs in ''Baskin'', as well as the cases of ''Fujii'' and ''Lee''. He found in favor of the plaintiff couples, granted them summary judgment and struck down Indiana's ban on same-sex marriage. He also removed Governor

Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...

from the lawsuit. He issued no stay and Indiana clerks began issuing

s to same-sex couples the day of the ruling. The first couple to receive a license were Craig Bowen and Jake Miller in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

on June 25. The Seventh Circuit brought license issuance to a halt on June 27. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals consolidated ''Baskin'' and its companion cases with a similar case in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, '' Wolf v. Walker''. It heard oral arguments on August 26. On September 4, the Seventh Circuit, in a unanimous opinion authored by Judge Richard Posner, upheld the district court's decision. On September 9, 2014, Wisconsin (joint by Indiana) asked the

to uphold their respective bans on same-sex marriage. On September 15, the Seventh Circuit granted a motion for a stay of ruling, to be in effect until the case is resolved at the Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider an appeal in ''Baskin'' on October 6, 2014, which allowed the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals to implement its decision requiring Indiana to license and recognize same-sex marriages, effectively legalizing same-sex marriage in Indiana.

=''Love v. Pence''

= ''Love v. Pence'' was filed on March 7, 2014. Judge Young dismissed it for lack of

subject-matter jurisdiction Subject-matter jurisdiction (also called jurisdiction ''ratione materiae')'' is the authority of a court to hear cases of a particular type or cases relating to a specific subject matter. For instance, bankruptcy court only has the authority ...

on June 25, 2014, because the only named defendant was Governor Pence, who cannot, he wrote, "issue executive decrees telling other elected officials how to do their jobs when it comes to laws affecting marriage." Judge Young reinstated that part of the suit concerned with the recognition of marriages from other jurisdictions on September 16, citing Governor Pence's memos directing state officials how to respond to other court decisions on the issue of same-sex marriage.

=''Bowling v. Pence''

= The plaintiffs in ''Bowling v. Pence'' raised only the question of Indiana's recognition of same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions, not the state's refusal to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples. One plaintiff couple was married in Iowa in 2011. A third plaintiff sought to dissolve her marriage established elsewhere. Judge Young issued his ruling in ''Bowling v. Pence'' on August 19, repeating the logic of his earlier decision in finding that the state's refusal to recognize same-sex marriages was unconstitutional. Though he had previously dismissed ''Love v. Pence'' after accepting the arguments of Governor Pence that the Governor of Indiana lacked authority over the enforcement of the state's ban, Young reversed himself, citing actions Pence took following the decision to ''Baskin''. Young noted that Pence, contrary to his earlier claims, had issued memos to state agencies instructing them to disregard the July 25 decision in ''Baskin''. Pence had written on July 7 that Indiana's ban "is in full force and effect and executive branch agencies are to execute their functions as though the U.S. District Court Order of June 25, 2014 had not been issued." In his ''Bowling'' decision, Young wrote: "The memoranda issued by the Governor clearly contradict his prior representations to the court". He called Pence's earlier statements a "bold misrepresentation". He wrote that his acceptance of Pence as defendant "is not based on the Governor's general duty to enforce the laws. It is based on his specific ability to command the executive branch regarding the law." He commented: "The court, after witnessing the Governor do what he claimed he could not do, reverses course and finds him to be a proper party to such lawsuits. The court wishes to reiterate that it finds the Governor's prior representations contradicting such authority to be, at a minimum, troubling." Young stayed enforcement of his decision and the state announced plans to appeal on August 21. The ruling was stayed until the Seventh Circuit ruled on the merits in similar cases. It also stated that the ruling would remain stayed if the Seventh Circuit stayed its decision in the related cases. The state's appeal was dismissed on January 5, 2015.

Developments after legalization

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in ''

Obergefell v. Hodges ''Obergefell v. Hodges'', ( ), is a landmark LGBT rights case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection ...

'' on June 26, 2015 that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry under the

Due Process Due process of law is application by state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to the case so all legal rights that are owed to the person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual pers ...

and Equal Protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment, legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Indiana statutes have yet to be modified to reflect legalization, with various unenforceable and void provisions still referring to marriage as being a heterosexual union. In January 2020, a bill to ban child marriage was the source of a "political fight" concerning the same-sex marriage provisions. The bill would have raised the minimum age of marriage from 15 to 18. According to the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

, a House committee voted 9–1 in favor of the bill "after hearing from women who testified they were 15 or 16 when their parents forced them to marry men who had raped or molested them and then faced more abuse before being able to escape the relationship". After Representative

Matt Pierce Matt Pierce is a Democratic member of the Indiana House of Representatives, representing the 61st District since 2002. He is also a lecturer in the Telecommunications department of the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University Ind ...

introduced an amendment to remove the unconstitutional sections banning same-sex marriage, House Speaker

refused to call the bill to the floor. In March 2020, a bill banning child marriage passed the House and Senate, but without the same-sex marriage amendment.

Marriage statistics

The following table, based on data published annually by the Indiana State Department of Health, shows the number of marriages performed in Indiana.

Public opinion

{, class="wikitable" , +style="font-size:100%" , Public opinion for same-sex marriage in Indiana , - ! style="width:190px;", Poll source ! style="width:200px;", Date(s)
administered ! class=small , Sample
size ! Margin of
error ! style="width:100px;", % support ! style="width:100px;", % opposition ! style="width:40px;", % no opinion , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
March 8–November 9, 2021
, align=center, ? , align=center, ? , align=center, 65% , align=center, 32% , align=center, 3% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
January 7–December 20, 2020
, align=center, 1,083 random telephone
interviewees , align=center, ? , align=center, 62% , align=center, 33% , align=center, 5% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
April 5–December 23, 2017
, align=center, 1,531 random telephone
interviewees , align=center, ? , align=center, 58% , align=center, 34% , align=center, 8% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
May 18, 2016–January 10, 2017
, align=center, 2,288 random telephone
interviewees , align=center, ? , align=center, 53% , align=center, 38% , align=center, 9% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
April 29, 2015–January 7, 2016
, align=center, 1,938 random telephone
interviewees , align=center, ? , align=center, 52% , align=center, 38% , align=center, 10% , -
New York Times/CBS News/YouGov
, align=center, September 20–October 1, 2014 , align=center, 1,405 likely voters , align=center, ± 3.1% , align=center, 43% , align=center, ''45%'' , align=center, 12% , - , rowspan=2 colspan=1
Princeton Survey Research International
, rowspan=2 colspan=1 align=center , October 8–21, 2013 , align=center, 600 interviews , align=center, ± 4.8% , align=center, ''48%'' , align=center, 46% , align=center, 6% , - , align=center, ? likely voters , align=center, ? , align=center, 44% , align=center, ''48%'' , align=center, 8% , -

, align=center, November 12–24, 2012 , align=center, 602 adults , align=center, ± 4.5% , align=center, ''45%'' , align=center, ''45%'' , align=center, 10% , -

References

External links

"More Than Just a Couple: 614 Reasons Why Marriage Equality Matters in Indiana (A Compendium of the Rights and Responsibilities of Civil Marriage in the Indiana Code)"
''Indiana Equality Action/Indiana University Maurer School of Law Report'' * {{Same-sex marriage in the United States LGBT rights in Indiana

2014 in LGBT history 2014 in Indiana