This week, the Indiana House made major headway in its attempt to put an anti-gay amendment into the state’s constitution. House Joint Resolution 6 is a constitutional amendment that would ban not only marriage, but any measure of protections or support for same-sex couples and their families in Indiana. The Indiana House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a constitutional ban on gay marriage Tuesday, by a 70-26 vote.

The vote was the second time since 2005 that the Indiana House has passed a ban on gay marriage. Indiana already has a law preventing the marriage of gay couples. However, some legal experts say the constitutional amendment is necessary to prevent courts from overturning that law.

The resolution would have to be approved by two consecutive legislatures and then go to the voters, so it would take three years. Same-sex marriage is banned by constitutional amendment in several states. Both same-sex marriage and civil unions are forbidden by the constitution in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.