Kentucky Amendment 1, Definition of Marriage Amendment (2004)
The Kentucky Marriage Amendment was on the November 2004 ballot in Kentucky as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, where it was approved. The measure defined marriage as being between one man and one woman, and declared any legal status identical to or similar to marriage for unmarried individuals as invalid.[1] It was overturned almost 10 years later.[2]
Aftermath
On July 1, 2014, Judge John Heyburn of the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky found the amendment violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution by treating same-sex couples differently than straight couples. He also pointed to the fact that every federal court case regarding same-sex marriage bans has found them unconstitutional. Heyburn said of this issue,
| “ | Those opposed by and large simply believe that the state has the right to adopt a particular religious or traditional view of marriage regardless of how it may affect gay and lesbian persons. But, as this Court has respectfully explained, in America even sincere and long-held religious views do not trump the constitutional rights of those who happen to have been out-voted. [...]
Sometimes, by upholding equal rights for a few, courts necessarily must require others to forebear some prior conduct or restrain some personal instinct. Here, that would not seem to be the case. Assuring equal protection for same-sex couples does not diminish the freedom of others to any degree.[3] |
” |
| —Judge John Heyburn, [4] | ||
Heyburn stayed the pending an appeal to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati decides multiple same-sex marriage cases from Kentucky and three other states. The oral arguments are scheduled to begin in that court on August 6, 2014.[5]
This was not Heyburn's first decision regarding same-sex marriage in Kentucky. In February 2014, he struck a ban on recognizing same-sex marriages from outside of Kentucky. He placed a stay on that ruling, at the time.[2][5]
Election results
| Kentucky Marriage Amendment | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Overturned Case:Love, et al. v. Beshear CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:13-CV-750-H | ||||
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 1,222,125 | 74.6% | ||
| No | 417,097 | 25.4% | ||
Text on ballot
The text on the ballot said:
"Are you in favor of amending the Kentucky Constitution to provide that only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be a marriage in Kentucky, and that a legal status identical to or similar to marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized?"
Financing the campaign
A total of $724,234 was spent on both sides of the campaign, with $201,370 on the pro-side and $522,864 on the anti-side.
The major donors to the "yes" vote side were:
- Vote Yes for Marriage Committee, $135,493.
- Yes for Traditional Marriage, $41,308.
The committee supporting the "no" side, Kentucky Families for Fairness, had 791 donors. The major donors were:
- National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, $73,000.
- Carla Wallace, $43,754.
- Stinson-Lewis-Stinson Pride Foundation, $40,000.
- Fairness Campaign, $17,000.[6]
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
See also
External links
References
- ↑ 2004 Kentucky Election Results (dead link)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Associated Press, "Judge Strikes Down Kentucky's Gay Marriage Ban," July 1, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Love, et al. v. Besehar, 3:13-CV-750-H (W.D.K.L. 2014)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 USA Today, "Gays have right to marry in Kentucky, judge rules," July 1, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money database on the Kentucky Marriage Amendment (2004)
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