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Louisiana Amendment 1, Definition and Recognition of Marriage Amendment (September 2004)
| Louisiana Amendment 1 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date September 18, 2004 | |
| Topic Marriage and family and LGBT issues | |
Status Approved | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
Louisiana Amendment 1, also known as the Marriage in Louisiana Act, was on the September 18, 2004 primary election ballot in Louisiana as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, where it was approved.
A "yes" vote supported defining marriage as between one man and one woman, and supported prohibiting the conferring or recognition of marriage between any other union. |
A "no" vote opposed defining marriage as between one man and one woman, and opposed prohibiting the conferring or recognition of marriage between any other union. |
Election results
|
Louisiana Amendment 1 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
|
|
619,908 | 77.78% | ||
| No | 177,067 | 22.22% | ||
Overview
What did this amendment do?
The amendment defined marriage as between one man and one woman in the state. It also provided that no official or court could recognize a marriage that was not between one man and one woman, which included civil unions.[1]
Aftermath
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. The ruling overturned bans on same-sex marriage.[2]
Justice Anthony Kennedy authored the opinion and Justices Ruth Bader 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.[3]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Amendment 1 was as follows:
| “ | AMENDMENT NO. 1 To provide that marriage in this state shall consist of the union of one man and one woman, that legal incidents of marriage shall not be conferred on a member of any union other than such union, and that the state shall not validate or recognize a legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals or any marriage contracted in any other jurisdiction which is not the union of one man and one woman. (Adds Article XII, Section 15) | ” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article XII, Louisiana Constitution
The ballot measure added Article XII, Section 15 to the Louisiana Constitution.[1]
Text of Section 15: Defense of Marriage
Marriage in the state of Louisiana shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman. No official or court of the state of Louisiana shall construe this constitution or any state law to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any member of a union other than the union of one man and one woman. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized. No official or court of the state of Louisiana shall recognize any marriage contracted in any other jurisdiction which is not the union of one man and one woman. [4]
Background
Related measures
Between 1998 and 2012, voters in 30 states approved ballot measures that defined marriage as between one male and one female or otherwise prohibited same-sex marriage. The U.S. Supreme Court invalidated bans on same-sex marriage in the case Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015.
- 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
Path to the ballot
Amending the Louisiana Constitution
- See also: Amending the Louisiana Constitution
A two-thirds (66.67%) vote is required during one session of the Louisiana State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 70 votes in the Louisiana House of Representatives and 26 votes in the Louisiana State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot. Amendments can be referred to the ballot in odd-numbered years and even-numbered years in Louisiana.
Amendment in the state legislature
The amendment was prefiled to the Louisiana State Legislature as House Bill 61 (HB61) on March 1, 2004. On May 18, the Louisiana House of Representatives passed HB61 by 87-11. On June 9, the Louisiana State Senate passed the amended version HB61 by 31-6. The House passed the amended version of HB61 by 88-13 on June 15.[5]
See also
External links
- 2004 Louisiana Constitutional Amendments
- 2004 Louisiana Primary Ballot Measure Election Results
- 2004 Louisiana Primary Ballot Measures Voter Guide (dead link)
- 2004 Louisiana Ballot Measure Details
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Louisiana State Legislature, "HB61 Text," accessed February 25, 2024
- ↑ NPR, "Supreme Court Declares Same-Sex Marriage Legal In All 50 States," June 26, 2015
- ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, "Obergefell v. Hodges," June 26, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source.
- ↑ Louisiana State Legislature, "HB61," accessed February 25, 2024
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State of Louisiana Baton Rouge (capital) |
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