This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Indiana Republican party activists overwhelmingly voted on Saturday to reaffirm language first inserted in their platform when Vice-President Mike Pence was governor, defining marriage as a union “between a man and a woman”.



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Same-sex marriage has been the law of the land since the supreme court ruled on the matter in June 2015.

Nonetheless, the Times of Northwest Indiana reported on Saturday that delegates to the party’s biennial state convention chose the existing plank in its party platform over one floated by Governor Eric Holcomb’s hand-picked party chairman that was intended to be more inclusive of same-sex couples.

Kyle Hupfer’s proposal would have recognized a variety of families, including “all loving adults” rearing children.

The vote was a victory for Pence-era social conservatives who inserted the affirmation of what they call a “traditional family” into the platform in 2014, when he was governor.

Daniel Elliot, the Morgan county party chairman and leader of the Republican Victory Committee that pushed the issue, said that endorsing the idea of marriage between a man and woman was key to the philosophy of “Hoosier Republicans”.

“This language … recognizes the reality on the ground that most families are headed by married couples,” Elliot said.

The Porter county chairman, Michael Simpson, advocated for the alternative, which read: “We support traditional families with a mother and father, blended families, grandparents, guardians, single parents and all loving adults who successfully raise and nurture children to reach their full potential every day.”

In a floor speech, Simpson argued that a broader definition of family “is the best platform for our party and the best way for us to grow”. After the vote, he said he accepted the outcome but said he and others would “keep encouraging all people” to join the party.

Indiana’s Stonewall Democrats, a group within the party that advocates for the LGBT community, said the platform decision was a “throwback” to previous battles in Indiana over a law that gay rights organizations said allowed religious groups to discriminate against the LGBT community.

“Indiana Republicans seem determined to live in denial of the basic constitutional rights granted to all Hoosiers,” the group said.

The floor fight over marriage was the state party’s third in three conventions, but Hupfer, who toned down his advocacy for change as conservative backlash grew, said the GOP remains united and will continue to discuss the issue.

“It’s been a good experience for our party,” said Hupfer. “We’ve shown that we’re open to varying views within the party.”