The state House approved a House bill Tuesday that could makegay marriages and civil unions illegal with an 88-13 vote.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, states”Marriage in the state of Louisiana shall consist only of the unionof one man and one woman.”
If Louisiana voters approve the bill in the Sept. 18 election itwill amend the state constitution.
House members initially wanted the election to be held Nov. 2along with the Presidential election, but the Senate amended thebill to Sept. 18 and the House passed it.
Rev. Gene Mills, Executive Director of Louisiana Family Forum,an organization for defending traditional families, said the billwas about defining marriage, not taking away people’s rights.
Sen. John Hainkel, R-New Orleans, who supports the bill, saidmarriage is about children, and that is why the bill waspassed.
But not everyone supports the bill.
Morris Welch of Equality Louisiana, an organization promotingequal treatment for all citizens, believes the bill promotesdiscrimination.
Welch said the people who favor this bill would have been thesame people who opposed the end of slavery and voting rights forblacks and women.