"Hoosier values" are under fire in Indiana, and Eli Lilly is the latest combatant.
On Wednesday, the pharmaceutical giant became the state's fourth major company to oppose the proposed marriage amendment, which would define marriage as between one man and one woman.
In a letter to Gov. Mitch Daniels, Lilly claimed the amendment would brand the state as intolerant and could jeopardize domestic-partner benefits.
"I can't believe a company with the stature of Lilly and their enormous legal resources would take a corporate position like this without any specific legal reasoning to back it up," Republican Sen. Brandt Hershman, the amendment's author, told The Indianapolis Star.
Carla Cox, a spokeswoman for Eli Lilly and Co., said the amendment would have a negative impact on the firm.
"It would mainly be around recruiting and retention of employees," she said. "We have employees who are telling us they would leave the company."
Ryan McCann, director of operations and public policy at the Indiana Family Institute (IFI), said he doesn't share Lilly's concerns.
"Their reasoning was a little lacking," he said.
The proposed amendment passed in 2005, but must pass a second time before going to voters as early as November 2008. The Senate approved the amendment earlier this year, and it awaits a vote in a House committee. IFI and other family advocates testified before the committee last week; so did those who oppose the amendment, including manufacturer Cummins and Indianapolis insurer WellPoint. McCann said the opposition's evidence was lacking.
"They didn't really have any proof at all that this would affect their recruiting practices," he said. "It was really kind of sad they were so unprepared."
The House Rules and Legislative Procedures Committee will hold its second hearing Tuesday on the amendment. The deadline for the committee to vote is Thursday, April 5.
"They've promised to bring this up, and they've promised to vote on this," McCann said. "We're hoping they keep their word."
The Indiana amendment drew national attention when Tony Dungy, coach of the Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts, spoke out in favor of it at an IFI banquet last week. McCann, who organized the banquet, praised Dungy.
"We know what strong character he has, and what an asset he's been to Indiana," he said.
Carrie Gordon Earll, senior director of issues analysis at Focus on the Family Action, is confident Indiana voters will pass the amendment. She said Lilly's opposition isn't based on any evidence.
"The 27 other states that have passed amendments have not had image issues," Earll said. "I think 'intolerance' is a smoke screen for what they're really saying, which is, 'We want homosexual marriage.'
"If there's any intolerance here, it's these corporate officials who are intolerant of the traditional definition of marriage. And Indiana voters should see that for what it is."
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(Paid for by Focus on the Family Action)
