US: Mayor holds ‘wedding’ for 13 gay couples to protest against proposed equal marriage ban
The mayor of a city in the US state of Indiana has conducted a symbolic wedding for over a dozen gay and lesbian couples in protest to a proposed ban on civil unions and equal marriage.
Mark Kruzan, mayor of Bloomington, Indiana, conduced the ceremony, which 13 couples took part in, as an opening to a local LGBT festival.
At the ceremony, Mayor Kruzan said: “By the power not yet invested in me by the state of Indiana, I pronounce you partners in life.”
Following the ceremony, ten Monroe County Council and Bloomington City Council members threw flowers onto the couples.
Back in 2011, the Indiana Senate approved a constitutional amendment banning gay marriages and civil unions by 40 votes to 10. The public gallery had to be cleared after gay rights protesters shouted at politicians.
A month prior to that, the Republican controlled House of Representatives approved the measure with a vote of 70 to 26.
The measure would need to be approved again, and pass a referendum in order to be written into law.
