Rupert Boneham is for Marriage Equality in Indiana

I'd like to make a correction on a post by Brandon over the weekend in which he discussed the situation in Indiana in which Republicans have removed a constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage as part of the party platform.

In the post, Brandon claimed that Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Rupert Boneham did not mention marriage equality on his website. As many of you noted, and we have in the past on Towleroad, Boneham is a marriage equality supporter and an LGBT ally. While it's not listed on Boneham's 'issues' page, there is a link on the front page of his site to a video (which we posted when he originally made it) advocating for marriage equality.

Boneham also handed out the above flyer at Spencer Pride, Indy Pride and at the upcoming OUTfest, and has been flaunting a Pride pic all month as his campaign page's profile photo.

In Indiana, Republicans And Democrats Straddle Muzzy Middle On Marriage Equality

Yesterday, Indiana Democrats convened in Summit City to create their party's 2012 platform. The talk was mostly economic, though Sen. Tim Lenane did make a forceful statement opposing any amendment to the state constitution that would define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

But this year, Indiana's Republicans seem uninterested in pursuing such an amendment. When the state's GOP gathered last weekend to lay out their own platform, for the first time in six years they declined to make the pursuit of a marriage amendment one of its planks. The party insists the softening is no softening at all -- that it reflects the direness of the current economic situation, rather than any kind of political calculation. From the IndyStar.com:

Republicans say their platform is simply a change in focus in an election that is all about jobs. Democrats say their platform reflects both their long-standing commitment to equality and the changing attitudes among voters.

... Micah Clark, leader of the American Family Association of Indiana, which wants Indiana to have some type of ban in the constitution, said he was disappointed by the GOP silence this year.

"That kind of caught me off guard," he said.

Interestingly, both of Indiana's major gubernatorial candidates -- Republican Mike Pence and Democrat John R. Gregg -- oppose marriage equality. Neither is talking about it much on the campaign trail. Neither is Libertarian candidate Rupert Boneham, the hirsute Survivor contestant, who declines to even mention the subject on his website. 

Indiana Gubernatorial Hopeful and 'Survivor' Contestant Rupert Boneham Speaks Out for Marriage Equality: VIDEO

Former Survivor contestant Rupert Boneham is running for governor of Indiana. In the following clip, he speaks out for marriage equality.

"I've been married to my wife for 14 wonderful years. Like many couples out there, we've had our hardships, we've had our trials, but nothing like the LGBT has to go through. It pains me to see my family and friends blocked from the same rights, privileges, protections that my wife and I are granted, just because we are legally married. What does it say to the youth of Indiana when a whole segment of our society is treated like second-class citizens?"

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

(via evan mcmahon)