SB 64: Solemnization of Marriage by Notary Publics

Sen. Broden has introduced SB 64 which would add notary publics to the list of people who can solemnize marriages in Indiana. I believe that this legislation is a response to the decision in the case brought by the Secular Humanists challenging the Constitutionality of Indiana’s solemnization law which would not recognize marriages solemnized by humanist secular celebrants. The court in that decision indicated that the secular humanists would be satisfied with a policy that allowed solemnization by notary publics.

The 7th Circuit said of Indiana’s current marriage solemnization statute:

These examples, and the state’s willingness to recognize marriages performed by hypocrites, show that the statute violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as well as the First Amendment. It is irrational to allow humanists to solemnize marriages if, and only if, they falsely declare that they are a “religion.” It is absurd to give the Church of Satan, whose high priestess avows that her powers derive from having sex with Satan, and the Universal Life Church, which sells credentials to anyone with a credit card, a preferred position over Buddhists, who emphasize love and peace. A marriage solemnized by a self-declared hypocrite would leave a sour taste in the couple’s mouths; like many others, humanists want a ceremony that celebrates their values, not the “values” of people who will say or do whatever it takes to jump through some statutory hoop.