Crowd gathers to discuss HJR-3 with legislators

A large crowd gathered on Saturday at the Meet Your Legislators meeting in Evansville.

It seems many were there to talk about a very hot topic across the state right now.

HJR-3, which is the amendment to permanently ban same-sex marriage in Indiana, did not come up until the very end of the session, but when it did, the discussion got heated.

The amendment was a hot topic at the last Meet Your Legislatures session as well. It went before 13 State Representatives last month and then underwent some revisions.

A controversial second sentence was dropped, but the conversations surrounding have not been.

"People are really upset. People are coming out of the wood work, so that is why we had such a big turn out today. Most of the people here at Meet The Legislatures are here to oppose this amendment, so I think that says something. It sends a message to our legislatures, and hopefully, it will send a message to the governor and to the public that this is not necessary," Evansville resident, Wally Paynter said.

"It takes a lot of guts to stand up in front of a group like this and share your personal stories, so I appreciate very much the thoughtfulness that these discussions cause," said Vaneta Becker, an Indiana State Senator.

Becker says HJR-3 will be heard before the rules committee on Monday. The committee will decide if it will go on to the Senate.