Indiana state representative Jim Lucas (R) has introduced legislation that would abolish state issued marriage licenses and replace them with private contracts.
The signing of the contract would need to be witnessed by two other people according to the Indianapolis Star.
Lucas, who has also introduced legislation that would repeal all license requirements for carrying firearms, represents one of the most conservative areas of the Hoosier state. He says that marriage will not change under his plan and cites the recent controversy over same-sex marriage as his reason for introducing the legislation.
“I’m tired of being beat over the head on marriage issues. It basically gets the state out of marriage. It’s really that simple,” Lucas told the Star. “I’ve seen marriage being used as a hammer on both sides of the fence. We’re taking the hammer away from people.”
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The proposed legislation, HB 1041, would apply equally to both heterosexual and homosexual couples. County clerks would not be required to issue licenses, thereby eliminating the possibility of another Kim Davis-style fiasco over religious liberties according to Lucas.
It would also allow church weddings to continue since members of the wedding party or church officials can sign the document as witnesses.
Other legal limits on marriage like age requirements would remain in effect. Divorce would still go through the court system.
The bill has been sent to committee for further study, but it’s not expected to pass.
Gabriel Dor
Indiana is an industrial armpit with a religious disorder called homophobia. Sorry Hoosiers.
Brian JC Kneeland
then he should turn his in for shredding!
Daniel Salmeron
As long as it’s applied equally to hetero and homosexual relationships, I have no issue with that
Bill Waxman
What an asshole and what a waste of time
Jack Gearing
The people in Indiana need to get a life. Can’t understand why they are so afraid of Gay people. It’s sad that they are so evil .
Max Maxwell
Registered relationships is the way to go.
Ben Ekdahl
I don’t think this is a bad idea. I like the way this separates the legal and religious aspects of marriage.
John Malin
That’s right honey! You go girl, all the kiddies will be bastards and no more joint filing of taxes and maybe paternity will have to be proven in order to use kids a deductions. Hate and bigotry are very costly!
Joseph C Landis-Midnight
That’s what I’ve been saying all along.
ted72
@Daniel Salmeron: No! This is just telling the religious nuts (Kim fucking Davises) out there it is OK to disobey the law whenever they do desire as long as they invoke in the name of their imaginary friend in the sky.
This is inherently a very bad thing.
DarkZephyr
@Daniel Salmeron: This is bad because its accommodating those who see same sex marriage as less than. This declares that same sex marriage is just so atrocious that marriage licenses have to be done away with completely to keep people safe from having to be associated with it. I am quite glad this is unlikely to pass. And by the way, how would this affect their marriages on a federal level? What if they want to marry a foreign born spouse and sponsor them for a green card? How can this be without a marriage license? F*** that sh** Dude.
DarkZephyr
@Joseph C Landis-Midnight: Well its been wrong all along.
Luis H. Lopez
Another asshole homophobe!
Creamsicle
It’s funny that we this was the suggestion from pro-LGBT advocates it was seen as subversive abd destroying marriage. Now that SCOTUS has mandated legal equality suddenly it’s not the government’s business. Suck a dick, dumb shit! You lost. Deal with it like an adult. If you want to live in a theocracy that doesn’t tolerate gays then maybe you should move to Saudi.
TampaBayTed
What happens to the numerous benefits afforded married couples under this latest scheme.
mujerado
He’s like a spoiled little kid who doesn’t like how the game is being played so he takes his ball and goes home. Pitiful.
John Malin
By the way, Jim Lucas looks like a “toe tapper” to me! Just saying!
mike51295
@Gabriel Dor: As a poor old queen who lives in the State you have an AMEN. Indiana rival Mississippi and Alabama for being miserable states: very high rates of high school drop out rates, high obesity rates, high smoking rates, low college completion rates. The teabaggers who run the state don’t understand why there is such a brain drain.
Berkleyguy
Moronic, bigoted, homophobic asshole. He looks enough like Donald Trump to be related and he’s just about the same level of mental competency which is three levels below idiot
GG
Introduced Version
HOUSE BILL No. 1041
_____
DIGEST OF INTRODUCED BILL
Citations Affected:
IC 3-5-7-4; IC 16-19-5-2; IC 31-11; IC 31-14-7-1; IC 33-32-5.
Synopsis:
Marriage. Eliminates the requirement that: (1) individuals
obtain a marriage license before being married; (2) a marriage be
solemnized by an individual specified by state law; and (3) a marriage
license be filed with a circuit court clerk and the state department of
health. Provides for marriage by marriage contract by any two
individuals who are competent to contract in Indiana or otherwise
permitted to marry in Indiana.
________________________________________________
The third issue would create all sorts of problems, such as a couple getting married in Indiana and, without ever filing with the state, if they ever moved to another state, the new state would not accept their document as proof of marriage. Or what if a couple loses the piece of paper? What about probate? Again, without benefit of filing, how is a surviving spouse to prove a marriage? Additionally, it would be easy enough to create a fake document after someone’s death to make a claim to the estate that one had been married to the deceased. What happens when a marriage can’t be proved because one spouse and the witnesses have died? These are just a few of the potential problems.
This will never fly in it’s current form.
Dakotahgeo
Lucas is simply Kim Davis in drag!
Jesse Erickson
huh. He sort of makes some good points.
Charlie Daniel Robbins
DarkZephyr
@Jesse Erickson: Oh, like what? Marriage licenses should be done away with completely, thus canceling out all the benefits that come with them because people are sometimes mean to each other over this issue? Anything else?
Willyam Firth
Yup, good damn idea in a long time….back in the day there was nothing other than a promise to live together and look after each other.
Joe Edwards
News Flash – Indiana lawmaker is an idiot, details at 7.
Joe Edwards
Willyam Firth – that piece of paper allows married people to revive benefits. It is important.
Juanjo
One of the main reasons for marriage is the need for stability in society. That stability is provided by defined relationships between people. Marriage in the secular sense is one such relationship. The responsibilities and privileges of a married couple are well defined in common and statutory law. Remove the statute and then how do we know who is responsible for what? Property ownership, financial contracts, inheritance, medical decisions etc are all decided based on marriage. Having a marriage license properly executed and filed with the state is proof of that relationship and it is the burden of others to prove it is invalid which is hard to do. Contracts are made and broken all the time. The provisions in a contract can vary depending on the parties. It is a lot easier for an outside party to attack a contract and force a party to it to prove the contract is valid.
This idiot wants to throw out about 1000 years of settled law because he is upset about same sex couples getting married.
1EqualityUSA
He may believe that even if the bill doesn’t pass, he wins, as he once again fans the flames of hate in a public forum. What he hasn’t put together is that every time we talk about equality in the public forum, we gain more and more acceptance. It’s in the debate that their views lose credibility. He should call up Maggie Gallagher and Princeton’s Robert P. George and ask how this experiment of theirs worked for them. What an ass.
GayEGO
Why spend all of that money for nothing. Marriage licenses already exist, they are a civil document, not a church document. Americans have the choice to get married at civil institutions and now in some churches, the smart ones. Lucas is just wasting a lot of taxpayers time and money, he is a loser.
Rick Caffey
tsmithknox
So, basically, he want to abolish a private contract between two people and replace it with a private contract between two people. Genius!!
tsmithknox
@tsmithknox: I really need to proofread before hitting “post”.
Dakotahgeo
@tsmithknox: It happens to the best of us. It’s early in the day.