Alabama Sanctity of Marriage, Constitutional Amendment 774 (June 2006)
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The Alabama Sanctity of Marriage Amendment, also known as Constitutional Amendment 774, was on the June 6, 2006 ballot in Alabama as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, where it was approved. The measure defined marriage as an "unique relationship between a man and a woman" and prohibited the state from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.[1]
The passage of the amendment, which was approved by a majority in every county, made Alabama the 20th state to adopt a constitutional amendment defining marriage.[1] The amendment was rendered null by a federal court in February 2015.[2]
Aftermath
U.S. District Court
On January 23, 2015, Judge Callie Granade of the US District Court for Southern Alabama struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage, saying the ban violated gay and lesbian citizens equal protection and due process rights. Judge Granade said the state failed to provide "rational, much less compelling," arguments connecting the deterioration of "the biological family structure the state wishes to promote" and same-sex marriage. She went on, "The Attorney General does not explain how allowing or recognizing same-sex marriage between two consenting adults will prevent heterosexual parents or other biological kin from caring for their biological children."[2] The decision was stayed until February 9, 2015.[3]
The state attempted to appeal the decision, but the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals opted against extending the lower court's stay past February 9.[4]
Chief Justice Roy Moore
On February 8, the day before same-sex marriages were to become legal in the state, Chief Justice Roy Moore of the Alabama Supreme Court ordered the state's probate judges to refuse marriage licenses to same-sex couples.[5] The New York Times described Chief Justice Moore's move as a "dramatic show of defiance toward the federal judiciary." Moore believed that the probate judges don't have to follow Judge Callie Granade's orders, saying, "I think I’ve done what I can do: advise the state court probate judges that they’re not bound by any ruling of the Federal District Court." The conflict between Moore and Grande, the state judiciary and the federal judiciary, created a legal conundrum in Alabama until the United States Supreme Court addressed the issue on February 9.[6]
On February 9, 2015, the US Supreme Court said it would not extend the stay on Judge Granade's ruling.[7]
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.[8]
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.[9] | ” |
| —Opinion of the Court in Obergefell v. Hodges[10] | ||
Election results
| Alabama Amendment 774 (June 2006) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Overturned Case:Searcy v. Strange | ||||
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 697,591 | 81.18% | ||
| No | 161,694 | 18.82% | ||
Text of the amendment
Ballot title
The language appeared on the ballot as:[1]
| “ | Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to provide that no marriage licenses shall be issued in Alabama to parties of the same sex and that the state shall not recognize a marriage of parties of the same sex that occurred as a result of the law of any other jurisdiction. (Proposed by Act 2005-35)
Yes No[9] |
” |
Constitutional changes
- See also: Amendment 774
The proposed amendment added Amendment 774 of the Alabama Constitution. The following text was added by the proposed measure's approval:[1]
| Sanctity of Marriage Amendment.
(a) This amendment shall be known and may be cited as the Sanctity of Marriage Amendment. (b) Marriage is inherently a unique relationship between a man and a woman. As a matter of public policy, this state has a special interest in encouraging, supporting, and protecting this unique relationship in order to promote, among other goals, the stability and welfare of society and its children. A marriage contracted between individuals of the same sex is invalid in this state. (c) Marriage is a sacred covenant, solemnized between a man and a woman, which, when the legal capacity and consent of both parties is present, establishes their relationship as husband and wife, and which is recognized by the state as a civil contract. (d) No marriage license shall be issued in the State of Alabama to parties of the same sex. (e) The State of Alabama shall not recognize as valid any marriage of parties of the same sex that occurred or was alleged to have occurred as a result of the law of any jurisdiction regardless of whether a marriage license was issued. (f) The State of Alabama shall not recognize as valid any common law marriage of parties of the same sex. (g) A union replicating marriage of or between persons of the same sex in the State of Alabama or in any other jurisdiction shall be considered and treated in all respects as having no legal force or effect in this state and shall not be recognized by this state as a marriage or other union replicating marriage.[9] |
Campaign contributions
- According to reports, no money was spent for the campaign either for or against the measure leading up to the election.[11]
Related measures
Voters approved ballot measures 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. Bans on same-sex marriage were invalidated 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
- Alabama 2006 ballot measures
- 2006 ballot measures
- List of Alabama ballot measures
- History of Initiative & Referendum in Alabama
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Alabama Secretary of State, "2006 Election Information," accessed February 5, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 USA Today, "Judge strikes down gay-marriage ban in Ala." January 23, 2015
- ↑ United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama, "Searcy v. Strange Order," January 25, 2015
- ↑ AL.com, "Federal appeals court denies Alabama's bid to extend delay on same-sex marriages," February 3, 2015
- ↑ Montgomery Advertiser, "Roy Moore orders ban on same-sex marriage licenses," February 8, 2015
- ↑ New York Times, "Gay Marriage Set to Begin in Alabama Amid Protest," February 8, 2015
- ↑ Associated Press, "Alabama Begins Issuing Marriage Licenses to Gay Couples," February 9, 2015
- ↑ NPR, "Supreme Court Declares Same-Sex Marriage Legal In All 50 States," June 26, 2015
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "quotedisclaimer" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, "Obergefell v. Hodges," June 26, 2015
- ↑ Follow the Money, "PRIMARY AMENDMENT ACT 2005-35: Same-sex Marriage Ban," accessed February 14, 2011
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