Suits Challenge Indiana's Same-Sex Marriage Ban

Greg and his partner C.J are engaged, but they can not get married in their home state of Indiana.

"That word means something to people, doesn't it?  It carries a lot of connotation with it.  What it means to be married, it's a pronunciation of your strength and love together," said Hasty.  "We really only use (the word) marriage for one thing, don't we?  It's to describe the love and commitment of two people who want to share their lives together which is exactly what we want to do."

Greg and C.J are one of several couples filing suit against the state’s same sex marriage ban calling it unconstitutional.

"We live here.  We live in your community. We are both contributors to our local community.  We think we do good work here and we don't understand why we should go anywhere else when we love to be here," said Hasty.  "We'd love to get married in Indiana together."

The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana is filing a lawsuit against the state’s same sex marriage ban.

Ken Falk of the ACLU says similar statutes in other states have been overturned and believes Indiana’s should be, too.

"I think the Supreme Court's decision has opened up a lot of people's views on the different scrutiny that a court is going to apply here," said Falk.  "I think there has been a movement building and it is moving very quickly."

State Attorney General Greg Zoeller is going to defend the law.

"The questions that are going to be raised before the federal court is whether the state has some legitimate reason for having a traditional  marriage," he said.  "The question of whether it is unconstitutional is a fairly recent question.  In all the history of Indiana we have always had the same license."

The suit claims state law violates the 14th Amendment.

It wants Indiana to allow same sex marriages and recognize ones that happen in other states.

Falk calls that statute "grossly unfair" and "grossly unequal."

"There is nothing more unfair and there is nothing more unequal in Indiana today than the fact we deny loving couples the right to marry solely because of their sexual preference," he said. 

Four suits have been filed over the past week and Falk believes they ultimately will be combined.