Indiana University Comes Out in Favor of Gay Marriage
On the heels of Indy Chamber’s similar announcement last week, Indiana University’s leadership announced support today for gay marriage. IU president Michael McRobbie voiced the move to join Freedom Indiana, a bipartisan collective of business and organizational leaders, in a plan to thwart the passage of an amendment banning gay marriage statewide. House Joint Resolution 6, commonly called HJR-6, is set to return to the Indiana General Assembly for legislative action early in 2014. Proponents and foes alike are bracing for quite a fight over the measure.
“Equality, compassion and respect for individuals have long been the bedrock of Indiana University’s educational mission, and the lack of tolerance implicit in HJR6 runs counters to IU’s deeply held values,” McRobbie said. “We are proud to join the Freedom Indiana coalition and, in doing so, stand with some of Indiana’s most respected employers and organizations on the side of fairness.”
In addition to Indy Chamber, Eli Lilly and Company (headquartered in Indianapolis) and Cummins Inc. (based in Columbus, Ind.) have previously joined the Freedom Indiana coalition. Leaders from Lilly and Cummins praised IU’s move today in separate statements.
What do you think of this trend among Indiana business, organization, and education leaders? Here’s a smattering of responses to today’s news in this arena:
