Indiana Again Passes Gay Marriage Ban

Indiana lawmakers Tuesday passed a constitutional ban on gay marriage for the second time, the first of three hurdles proponents must overcome to include the ban in the state’s founding documents, the Indianapolis Star reported Wednesday.

The state Senate approved the ban on Tuesday, a month after the House had passed the ban by a nearly three-to-one margin.

"The family is the basic unit of our society and has been since Adam and Eve," said Sen. Dennis Kruse, a Republican from Auburn and the resolution's House sponsor. He said marriage "should be the union of one man and one woman."

The measure senators approved Tuesday also would ban civil unions and arrangements "substantially similar" to marriage.

For the ban to become part of the state constitution, the next legislature -- elected in 2012 -- also would have to approve it, and it then would have to pass a popular referendum.