Several States Move to Protect Marriage in Constitutions 4/6/2004
By Jeremy Sewall
Four states recently enacted constitutional amendments protecting marriage, while similar legislation failed in six states. Three other states have amendments pending.
The Georgia State Legislature recently approved a state constitutional marriage amendment, sending the issue to Georgia residents for a vote this November. Wisconsin legislators also passed a constitutional amendment, as did Utah and Massachusetts.
Georgia legislators who support their measure say that activist judges could overturn the state’s marriage law without further protection. The amendment passed with help from “heavy lobbying from black clergymen and other social conservatives,” resulting in several black representatives changing their votes, according to the Las Vegas Sun. The same amendment had failed to pass the House in February.
In Massachusetts, the Constitutional Convention on March 29 passed the Travaglini-Finneran constitutional amendment defining marriage but also creating civil unions. The convention is scheduled to meet again on May 12, five days before the Supreme Judicial Court’s (SJC) deadline for the state to begin issuing same-sex “marriage” licenses, but it cannot do anything on marriage until next year. If next year’s Convention passes the marriage amendment again, it would go to the voters in 2006. Pro-family groups hope to replace Travaglini-Finneran with an amendment that would protect marriage without creating civil unions. That would put the process back a year, with the measure going before the voters no earlier than 2008.
In the Legislature, a bill that would require the SJC justices to stand for a retention vote was sent to a special committee of the judiciary. This bill is currently in both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, and residents of Massachusetts should urge the members of these committees to report the bill out of committee with a “Do pass” recommendation.
The Washington Times reported that Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is still exploring “other options” since his Attorney General Tom Reilly refused to ask the SJC to stay its decision to allow same-sex marriages to take place starting May 17.
Utah residents will vote on that state’s amendment this November, while Wisconsin residents must wait for the amendment to be approved by next year’s legislature before it will go to the voters.
Alabama, Missouri and Mississippi are still considering state marriage amendments, but amendments in Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Wyoming were defeated.
Target states for pro-marriage ballot initiatives this year include Arkansas, Montana and Oregon. Multnomah County, Oregon, remains the only district left in the United States still issuing same-sex marriage licenses in violation of the law. As of this week, more than 4,000 “marriage” licenses have been granted to homosexual couples.