More than 300 clergy and other religious leaders in Indiana have called on legislators to halt the move to ban gay marriage in the state, Pink News reports.
The letter from the Interfaith Coalition on Non-Discrimination reads, in part, “The Indiana Bill of Rights guarantees the free exercise and enjoyment of religious opinions, and prevents the giving of a legal preference to any creed. Preferring and codifying one particular religious view of marriage in the Indiana Constitution flies in the face of both of these guarantees.”
It states that a proposed constitutional amendment to prohibit same-sex marriage “would increase discrimination and undermine religious freedom” and urged lawmakers to permit the state’s various faith communities to chart their own course regarding gay marriage.
According to Pink News, both the state House and Senate voted in favour of the constitutional amendment in 2011 by overwhelming majorities. The measure must be approved again this year or in 2014 before voters get their say by referendum.
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