Now, this is truly surprising:
More than a third of the Indiana House members who voted for a constitutional same-sex marriage ban in 2011 now plan to vote against it or are wavering.
The number switching to support the amendment? Zero.
Those statistics reveal how far the debate over gay marriage has shifted in a state where only three years ago, House representatives overwhelmingly approved the ban 70 to 26.
As the House prepares to take up the issue again — as early as Monday — members who have declared a position are split down the middle, an Indianapolis Star poll found.
Of the 100 House members, 38 plan to vote for the measure, while 38 plan to vote against it. The other 24 said they were undecided (13) or declined to comment (11).
That gives opponents a better shot than most anyone expected just weeks ago, but they still need to woo 13 non-committed lawmakers — including at least 11 Republicans — to kill the ban.
Yes, we knew that Hoosiers are more accepting of gay marriage than they once were (but probably not as accepting as supporters claim), and that the vote in the General Assembly would be closer than it was the last time? But this close? No way. It certainly adds weight to the notion that HRJ3 might be killed by the voters if it gets to a plebiscite.
