Arkansas Amendment 3, Definition of Marriage Amendment (2004)
| Arkansas Amendment 3 | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Family-related policy and LGBTQ issues |
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| Status |
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| Type Initiated constitutional amendment |
Origin |
Arkansas Amendment 3 was on the ballot as an initiated constitutional amendment in Arkansas on November 2, 2004. On May 9, 2014, the measure was overturned by Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Chris Piazza.[1][2][3]
A "yes" vote supported providing that marriage would consist of unions only between one man and one woman. |
A "no" vote opposed providing that marriage would consist of unions only between one man and one woman. |
Election results
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Arkansas Amendment 3 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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753,770 | 74.95% | ||
| No | 251,914 | 25.05% | ||
Overview
What was this amendment designed to do?
This amendment was designed to amend the state constitution to provide that marriage would consist of only the union between one man and one woman. It would provide that the legal status for unmarried people which is identical or similar to marital status will not be valid or recognized in Arkansas, except that the legislature could recognize common law marriage from another state between one man and one woman.[4]
Aftermath
County Circuit Court
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."[3]
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. [5] |
” |
| —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.[3][6]
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.[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. The ruling overturned bans on same-sex marriage.[8]
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.[9]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Amendment 3 was as follows:
| “ | 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. | ” |
Full Text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Support
The Arkansas Marriage Amendment Committee, the Families First Action Committee, Focus on the Family, the Arkansas Committee for Ethics Policy, the Traditional Marriage Crusade, and the Churches in Support of Amendment 3 were the campaigns registered to support the amendment.[10]
Supporters
Organizations
Opposition
Arkansas for Human Rights was the campaign registered to oppose the amendment.
Opponents
Organizations
Path to the ballot
In Arkansas, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated constitutional amendment for the ballot is equal to 10 percent of the votes cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election. Proponents must collect signatures equaling at least half of the designated percentage of gubernatorial votes in at least 50 of the state's counties. There is no limit on how long an initiative petition can be circulated. Signature petitions must be submitted four months prior to the election at which the measure is to appear. If the secretary of state certifies that enough signatures were submitted in a petition, the initiative is put on the ballot. If a petition fails to meet the signature requirement, but the petition has at least 75 percent of the valid signatures needed, petitioners have 30 days to collect additional signatures or demonstrate that rejected signatures are valid.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 M. Kendall Wright, et al. v. State of Arkansas, Case No. 60CV-13-2662, "Order Granting Summary Judgment in Favor of the Plaintiffs and Finding Act 144 of 1997 and Amendment 83 Unconstitutional," May 9, 2014
- ↑ Al Jazeera America, "ARKANSAS JUDGE STRIKES DOWN GAY MARRIAGE BAN," May 9, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Los Angeles Times, "Arkansas ban on gay marriage struck down by county judge, with no stay," May 9, 2014
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Text of Amendment," accessed December 5, 2024
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Associated Press, "Arkansas to appeal same-sex marriage ruling," May 11, 2014
- ↑ Fox News, "Arkansas, Mississippi overturn gay marriage bans," November 25, 2014
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Open Secrets, "Arkansas AMENDMENT 3 : Same-sex Marriage Ban," accessed December 5, 2024
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