Arkansas Same-Sex Marriage Ban, Proposed Amendment 3 (2004)

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The Arkansas Same-Sex Marriage Ban Amendment, also known as Proposed Amendment 3, was on the ballot in Arkansas on November 2, 2004, as an initiated constitutional amendment, where it was approved. The measure provided that marriage consist of unions only between one man and one woman. On May 9, 2014, the measure was overturned by Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Chris Piazza.

Aftermath

County Circuit Court

Judge Chris Piazza overturned this measure on May 9, 2014.

Almost ten years after the passage of Proposal 3, the measure was overturned on May 9, 2014, with no stay being provided. The state argued that the Arkansas had a right to ban same-sex marriage in order to protect children, preserve tradition and favor the ability to procreate. The court found those arguments illegitimate because "no law requires opposite-sex couples to have children or precludes same-sex couples from taking care of them."

Judge Chris Piazza of the Pulaski County Circuit Court made the ruling, stating,

“	A marriage license is a civil document and is not, nor can it be, based upon any particular faith. Same-sex couples are a morally disliked minority and the constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages is driven by animus rather than a rational basis. This violates the United States Constitution.	”
—Judge Chris Piazza

Arkansas Supreme Court

A week prior to this ruling, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel (D) had stated that he did not personally support measures against same-sex marriages, but that he would continue to defend them as it was required of his office. McDaniel announced on May 10, 2014 that he intended to appeal the court's decision. He had asked Piazza to suspend his ruling until such appeals could be made, but Piazza issued no such stay. The matter now goes to the Arkansas Supreme Court. However, marriage licenses to same-sex couples were already being issued the day following the decision.

U.S. District Court

On November 25, 2014, U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker ruled in favor of two same-sex couples who challenged the ban. Judge Baker wrote that the ban violated the U.S. Constitution by preventing same-sex couples from exercising their right to marry, not recognizing valid same-sex marriages from other states and discriminating on the basis of gender. The ruling was put on hold in anticipation of appeals to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

U.S. Supreme Court

See also: Obergefell v. Hodges

On June 26, 2015, the United States Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marriage under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution in the case Obergefell v. Hodges. This ruling overturned all voter-approved constitutional bans on same-sex marriage.

Justice Anthony Kennedy authored the opinion and Justices Ruth Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan joined. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito each authored a dissent.

The concluding paragraph of the court's majority opinion read:

“	No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right.	”
—Opinion of the Court in Obergefell v. Hodges

Election results

Arkansas Proposed Amendment 3 (2004)
otOverturned Case:M. Kendall Wright, et al. v. State of Arkansas 60CV-13-2662
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		753,770	74.95%
No		251,914	25.05%

Election results via: Arkansas Secretary of State

Text of measure

The question on the ballot:

A proposed amendment to the Arkansas Constitution providing that marriage consists only of the union of one man and one woman; that legal status for unmarried person which is identical or substantially similar to marital status shall not be valid or recognized in Arkansas, except that the legislature may recognize a common law marriage from another state between a man and a woman; and that the legislature has the power to determine the capacity of persons to marry, subject to this amendment, and the legal rights, obligations, privileges, and immunities of marriage.

Support

Supporters

The measure was supported by the Arkansas Family Council.

Campaign finance

The two major donors to the pro-campaign were:

• The Arkansas Marriage Amendment Committee, $226,051.
• Families First Action Committee, $73,374.

A total of $334,731 was spent in favor of the amendment.

Opposition

Campaign finance

Only $2,952 was spent against against Amendment 3.

Related measures

Many historical marriage and family-related ballot measures regard the definition of legal marriage. The debate often revolved around whether marriage should be legally defined as the “union of one male and one female” or the “union of two persons [regardless of sex].” Voters chose to define marriage as between “one male and one female” in the following 30 states. The first constitutional prohibition was in 1998, and the latest one occurred in May 2012. All bans on same-sex marriage were overturned in the 2015 United States Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges.

• 1998: Alaska
• 2000: Nebraska
• 2002: Nevada
• 2004: Arkansas
• 2004: Georgia
• 2004: Kentucky
• 2004: Louisiana
• 2004: Michigan
• 2004: Mississippi
• 2004: Missouri
• 2004: Montana
• 2004: North Dakota
• 2004: Ohio
• 2004: Oklahoma
• 2004: Oregon
• 2004: Utah
• 2005: Kansas
• 2005: Texas
• 2006: Alabama
• 2006: Colorado
• 2006: Idaho
• 2006: South Carolina
• 2006: South Dakota
• 2006: Tennessee
• 2006: Virginia
• 2006: Wisconsin
• 2008: Arizona
• 2008: California
• 2008: Florida
• 2012: North Carolina

See also

Suggest a link

• Arkansas 2004 ballot measures
• 2004 ballot measures
• List of Arkansas ballot measures
• History of Initiative & Referendum in Arkansas

External links

• Arkansas Secretary of State