Marriage-related ballot measures and initiatives
From Ballotpedia
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Most marriage-related ballot measures and initiatives offer definitions of marriage as a union of one man and one woman. In defining marriage in that fashion, proponents are saying that when a man and a man, or a woman and a woman, enter into a committed relationship with each other, their arrangements with each other should not legally be considered a marriage. These ballot measures are sometimes collectively referred to as Defense of Marriage Amendments or "DOMAS".
Altogether, voters in 29 states have passed state constitutional amendments that ban gay marriage: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Hawaii voters approved a constitutional amendment empowering the legislature to outlaw same-sex marriage; that state's lawmakers then did so in 1998.
However, not all marriage-related amendments and initiatives are about defining marriage; some of them relate to adoption, custody, divorce and other marriage-related issues.
2009
2008
- Arizona Marriage Protection Amendment
- Arkansas Unmarried Couple Adoption Ban
- California Proposition 8
- Florida Marriage Amendment
Failed, abandoned, withdrawn, or headed for a future ballot
- California Elimination of Domestic Partnerships Initiative
- California Voter's Right to Protect Marriage Initiative v.6
- Florida Abolition of Alimony Obligations
- Indiana SJR-7
- Oregon Ballot Measure 303.
- Oregon Ballot Measure 304.
2007
2006
In 2006, voters in nine states had the opportunity to weigh in on ballot measures about how to define marriage. Each of the nine measures in one way or another was an attempt to legislatively define marriage as between a man and a woman. The Arizona initiative lost, representing the first time that a marriage-related amendment has been defeated.
Initiated measures in 2006
- Arizona Proposition 107, failed.
- Colorado Amendment 43, passed with 55%.
Legislative referrals in 2006
- Alabama Sanctity of Marriage Amendment, passed with 81%.
- Colorado Amendment 43
- Colorado Referendum I, failed
- Idaho Amendment 2, passed with 63%.
- South Carolina Marriage Amendment
- South Dakota Amendment C, passed with 52%.
- Tennessee Marriage Amendment
- Virginia Marriage Amendment
- Wisconsin Question One
2006 campaign finance
According to a report from the National Institute on Money in State Politics[1]
- $18 million cumulatively was spent by political committees working for and against the nine proposals.
- Opponents of the measures outspent advocates by about 3-1.
- Only in Tennessee did supporters raise more money than opponents
- The Arlington Group contributed $1.65 million through "member groups and affiliates".
- Gay and lesbian rights groups contributed $5.64 million, mostly through the Gill Action Fund.
- Tim Gill and his connections cumulatively contributed $5.28 million to defeat the measures.
- Churches and their employees gave $234,344 to support the measures, versus $1.9 million in 2004.
Kansans vote on marriage in 2005
- Kansas Marriage Amendment, passed with 70%
Thirteen states vote on marriage in 2004
Primary election ballots
- Louisiana Marriage Amendment 1, passed with 78%
- Missouri Constitutional Amendment 2, passed with 70.7%
November ballot
- Arkansas Constitutional Amendment 3, passed with 75%
- Georgia Constitutional Amendment 1, passed with 76.2%
- Kentucky Marriage Amendment, passed with 74.6%
- Michigan Proposal 2, passed with 58.6%
- Mississippi Marriage Amendment 1, passed with 86%
- Montana CI-96, passed with 66.6%
- North Dakota Marriage Amendment (2004), passed with 73.2%
- Ohio Marriage Amendment, passed with 61.7%
- Oklahoma State Question 711, passed with 75.6%
- Oregon Ballot Measure 36, passed with 56.6%
- Utah Marriage Amendment, passed with 65.9%
Nevada re-votes on marriage in 2002
- Nevada Marriage Amendment, passed with 66.9%.
Three DOMAs in 2000
- Alabama Amendment 2, abolish prohibition on interracial marriages. Passed with 60%.
- California Proposition 22, defining marriage as one man/one woman.[2] The measure passed with 61.2%. It was overturned by the California Supreme Court in May 2008.
- Nebraska Initiative 416, define marriage as one man/one woman. Passed with 70%.
- Nevada Marriage Amendment, define marriage as one man/one woman. Passed with 70%.
1998
- Utah Proposition 2. Proposition 2 repealed an obsolete, 1896, provision of the Utah Constitution regarding property rights of married women. Passed with 70.5%.
- Alaska Marriage Amendment (1998), amending "the Declaration of Rights section of the Alaska Constitution to limit marriage. The amendment would say that to be valid, a marriage may exist only between one man and one woman." Passed with 68.1% of the vote.
1992
External links
- Same-sex marriage: Breaking the firewall in California?, an October 14, 2008 report by the Initiative & Referendum Institute.
- State policies on gay marriage
- Marriage in the 50 states
Notes
- ↑ The Money Behind the 2006 Marriage Amendments from the National Institute on Money in State Politics, July 23, 2007 (PDF)
- ↑ New York Times, "Ballot initiative that would thwart gay marriage is embroiling California", February 25, 2000
