Indiana - Cracking Down On Crime

[SciFi Chick]

That's right folks. It's a felony for same sex couples to apply for a marriage license.

[Rommie]

Well I'm glad to hear they've solved all other more pressing problems...

[FZR1KG]

Form the comments section:

Good call. The bill in question is P.L.158-2013, which was HB 1006: http://www.in.gov/apps/lsa/session/billwatch/bill...

And looking at the changes myself, it doesn't seem like it's actually changing anything. All of this was already on the books, it looks like they're just changing their system from "Class A-D" to "Level 1-6", so the bill modifies these sections (along with what looks like hundreds of other sections) to change "Class D" in the text to "Level 6". That's the only thing it changed about the marriage license statute. In case you're curious, the statute in question is Title 31, Article 11, Chapter 11 "Offenses", linked here: http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title31/ar1...

And in fact, they *lowered* the pentalties associated with Class D/Level 6 felonies such as the "false information" one. Class D was "between six (6) months and three (3) years, with the advisory sentence being one and one-half (1 1/2) years", and the new Level 6 penalty is "between six (6) months and two and one-half (2 1/2) years, with the advisory sentence being one (1) year". Fine is max $10,000 in both cases.

Additionally, the supposed "addition" of barring people from performing same-sex marriages (IC 31-11-11-7) has been on the books since 1997, and wasn't even touched at all by this new law (because it's a misdemeanor, not a felony). So that section is patently false information. Note the "As added by P.L.1-1997, SEC.3" in christieasselin's second post: that section wasn't even modified by this most recent bill.

I'm all for defending gay rights and keeping an eye on what states are doing with it, but whipping up a fury over false information helps no one but the opposition. So yeah, this is a non-story, a routine and wide-sweeping administrative change that wasn't targeting this law in the slightest. NCR, you should be ashamed of yourselves.

Case of woefully bad reporting, to the point where I'd call it deliberate deceit.