Bauer says House blocked amendment aimed at affirming marriage rights amid SB 76 debate

Written from press release

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – January 10, 2026

State Rep. Maureen Bauer, D-South Bend, said House Republicans blocked an amendment she offered Tuesday to Senate Bill 76 that would have stated no governmental body may “deny, restrict or interfere” with the right to marry based on race, color, ethnicity or national origin.

The amendment was filed as House Amendment No. 2 to SB 76, labeled “Immigration matters,” on the Indiana General Assembly’s House calendar for the bill.

In a statement released by the Indiana House Democratic Caucus, Bauer said she brought the amendment after recent committee testimony entered into the legislative record in which a representative of the Mass Deportation Coalition argued immigration changes the nation’s demographics and culture and described the “mixing of populations” as harmful, while questioning the intent of SB 76.

“Today I offered an amendment to make clear that Indiana will not return to eras defined by exclusion and discrimination,” Bauer said, calling the testimony “appalling” and “deeply concerning.” Bauer cited the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection guarantee and said the measure would have codified protections to ensure marriage rights could not be denied by any Indiana government entity based on race, ethnicity or national origin.

SB 76 has been the subject of extended debate this session and includes multiple provisions related to immigration enforcement and state policy.

House action on Bauer’s amendment was not immediately detailed in the online calendar beyond its filing and listing among the bill’s amendments, and vote totals were not included in the caucus release.

The post Bauer says House blocked amendment aimed at affirming marriage rights amid SB 76 debate first appeared on The Bloomingtonian.