Evansville City Council has formally filed its resolution opposing House Joint Resolution No. 6.
HJR-6, as it's more commonly known, is the proposed State Constitutional Amendment that would define marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman.
It would also prohibit Indiana Courts from recognizing out-of-state, same-sex marriages – thereby leaving those couples unable to get a divorce.
Councilman Jonathan Weaver, D-At-large, and Councilwoman Stephanie Brinkerhoff Riley, D-3rd Ward, sponsored the resolution.
"Say they've gotten legally married in Iowa, they come back here, let's say ten years from now... they want to end their relationship, there's no guidance in Indiana in terms of how to divide their property or how to determine custody," Brinkerhoff-Riley said.
She adds that HJR-6 poses a threat to Evansville’s business community and its potential for development.
"We produce competent employees, but we want to make sure they stay here and they find Evansville and Indiana a palatable place to raise a family, regardless of who their partner is," Brinkerhoff-Riley said.
Mayor Lloyd Winnecke, along with nearly a dozen Indiana mayors, announced his opposition to HJR-6 on Monday.
Brinkerhoff Riley said City Council had filed its resolution before they heard of the Mayor’s position, but they were “pleasantly surprised” by the news.
The resolution will be heard by City Council at its next meeting Monday, December 9th.
