Jan 20, 2005
Indianapolis, Indiana – Today, the Indiana Court of Appeals held that homosexual couples do not have a fundamental right to marry persons of the same sex. The Court upheld the constitutionality of Indiana’s Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The ruling comes in the wake of recent decisions in Florida and Louisiana protecting marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
In its ruling, the Court stated, “What we decide today is that the Indiana Constitution does not require the governmental recognition of same-sex marriage, although the legislature is certainly free to grant such recognition or create a parallel institution under that document.” In short, the Court ruled that the Legislature acted appropriately in creating public policy which preserves marriage as the legal union of one man and one woman. Additionally, the Court held that “opposite-sex marriage furthers the legitimate state interest in encouraging opposite-sex couples to procreate responsibly and have and raise children within a stable environment.”
Mathew D. Staver, President and General Counsel of Liberty Counsel, stated: “This is another great victory for marriage. Indiana’s DOMA is good law and should remain in place. I am pleased to see that the judges on the Indiana Court of Appeals have exercised judicial restraint and not acted like superlegislators trying to create new law. The same-sex marriage movement has not had a good week. Common sense and the history of humanity underscore that marriage between a man and a woman is best for society and best for our children.”
Liberty Counsel is currently involved in defending marriage as one man and one woman in more than 30 cases throughout the country.