If James Madison, “Father of the Constitution” and author of the Federalist Papers explaining it, had later announced that it had been “poorly drafted” and needed revision, you can imagine the immediate and noisy uproar. Yet when the man who helped write language that’s in the currently proposed “Marriage Protection” Amendment (SJR-7) to the Bill of Rights of the Indiana Constitution used those same words, few have batted an eyebrow.

In May 2004 Judge Robert Bork, patron saint of conservatives who favor the “strict construction” of laws, testified before Congress that the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment, of which he was a prime writer, was “poorly drafted”. As a result, it was significantly changed to resolve ambiguities and unintended consequences.

When introduced in 2005, Indiana’s proposed amendment was copied almost verbatim from Bork’s original handiwork. But the crucial changes he caused were not. The Indiana debates over language problems are the very same ones Bork addressed before Congress. Yet SJR-7 sponsors, who apparently though it unnecessary to share this critical history with our lawmakers, continue to deny any problems.

The media, our lawmakers, and all Hoosiers need to ask the hard questions to find out why. We’re talking about a Constitutional amendment, not buying a used car.

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