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Michigan Proposal 04-2, Definition of Marriage Initiative (2004)
| Michigan Proposal 04-2 | |
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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 |
Michigan Proposal 04-2 was on the ballot as an initiated constitutional amendment in Michigan on November 2, 2004. It was approved.
A “yes” vote supported establishing the definition of "marriage or any similar union" as "the union of one man and one woman". |
A “no” vote opposed establishing the definition of "marriage or any similar union" as "the union of one man and one woman". |
Aftermath
Federal District Court
On March 21, 2014, a federal district court judge Bernard Friedman ruled that the measure violated the U.S. Constitution, and ordered that the state stop enforcing the ban. Friedman stated that, "The court finds the (amendment) impermissibly discriminates against same-sex couples in violation of the Equal Protection Clause because the provision does not advance any conceivable state interest." The ruling followed similar rulings in Texas, Virginia, Oklahoma and Utah. However, the rulings in those cases only suspended the enforcement of similar laws until appeals could be made to higher courts.[1]
Sixth Circuit Court
On November 6, 2014, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court's ruling in Michigan. In a 2 to 1 vote, Judge Jeffrey Sutton and Judge Deborah Cook upheld the voter-approved ban. Judge Sutton said:
| “ | When the courts do not let the people resolve new social issues like this one, they perpetuate the idea that the heroes in these change events are judges and lawyers. Better in this instance, we think, to allow change through the customary political processes, in which the people, gay and straight alike, become the heroes of their own stories by meeting each other not as adversaries in a court system but as fellow citizens seeking to resolve a new social issue in a fair-minded way.[2] | ” |
| —Judge Jeffrey Sutton[3] | ||
He also argued that states have an interest in defining measure "not to regulate love but to regulate sex, most especially the intended and unintended effects of male-female intercourse." Judge Martha Craig Daughtrey, the court's dissenter, delivered a critical opinion. She said, "If we in the judiciary do not have the authority, and indeed the responsibility, to right fundamental wrongs left excused by a majority of the electorate, our whole intricate, constitutional system of checks and balances, as well as the oaths to which we swore, prove to be nothing but shams."[3]
Appeals to the US Supreme Court were filed for the Michigan case and for cases from other states in the Sixth Circuit's jurisdiction. The Michigan petition asked the nation's highest court to decide "[w]hether a state violates the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by denying same-sex couples the right to marry."[4] The US Supreme Court refused to hear appeals from states seeking to uphold same-sex marriage bans in October 2014, which was before the Sixth Circuit's ruling. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg hinted at the court's reasoning, saying, "Now if that court should disagree with the others, then there will be some urgency in the court taking the case."[5] With the Sixth Circuit's ruling, there is now a disagreement between appeals courts.
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.[6]
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.[7]
Election results
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Michigan Proposal 04-2 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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2,698,077 | 58.62% | ||
| No | 1,904,319 | 41.38% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Proposal 04-2 was as follows:
| “ | PROPOSAL 04-2 PROPOSAL TO AMEND THE STATE CONSTITUTION TO SPECIFY WHAT CAN BE RECOGNIZED AS A "MARRIAGE OR SIMILAR UNION" FOR ANY PURPOSE The proposal would amend the state constitution to provide that "the union of one man and one woman in marriage shall be the only agreement recognized as a marriage or similar union for any purpose." Should this proposal be adopted? Yes No | ” |
Full Text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Path to the ballot
Process in Michigan
An initiated constitutional amendment is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends a state's constitution. Eighteen (18) states allow citizens to initiate constitutional amendments.
In Michigan, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 10% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. A simple majority vote is required for voter approval.
See also
Stages of the initiative
Citizens for the Protection of Marriage led the campaign in support of the initiative.
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ CNN, "Federal judge strikes down Michigan's gay marriage ban," accessed March 24, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 USA Today, "Gay marriage bans in four states upheld, Supreme Court review likely," November 7, 2014
- ↑ Washington Post, "Two more same-sex marriage cases reach the Supreme Court," November 18, 2014
- ↑ New York Times, "Same-Sex Couples Petition Supreme Court on Right to Marriage," November 14, 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
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State of Michigan Lansing (capital) |
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