Indiana Taxpayers On The Hook For $1.4 Million In Failed Effort To Maintain Same-Sex Marriage Ban
This morning The Indianapolis Star reported on the price the state of Indiana paid in a fruitless effort to keep its ban on same-sex marriage in place.
The state paid more than $1.4 million in fees to plaintiffs’ attorneys in five federal court cases that challenged — and ultimately helped overturn — Indiana’s ban on same-sex marriages, according to the attorney general’s office.
Same-sex marriages became legal in Indiana last year through two federal rulings, essentially sealed when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up an appeal by Indiana and four other states.
That resolved the five lawsuits in favor of the plaintiffs, leaving the state of Indiana to foot the bill for their legal costs.
When you see “the state of Indiana” being left to foot the bill, what you should be reading is THE TAXPAYERS OF INDIANA. Some might try to minimize this sum by working it out to about 25 cents for every man, woman and child in the state. However, with a child poverty rate of 22% in 2013, there can be no debate that Indiana could have put $1.4 million to much better use.
Not only did this state attempt to deny many thousands of citizens their human rights, it flushed taxpayer money down the toilet in an effort to continue doing so long after the legal tide had turned against same-sex marriage bans around the country. It is hard to imagine anything less conservative than interfering in the relationships of citizens AND wasting taxpayer dollars while doing so.
What it cost Indiana to fight same-sex marriage - The Indianapolis Star