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Ohio Gov. Bob Taft signed HB 272, barring recognition of same-sex marriages and civil unions

On February 6, 2004, Ohio Governor Bob Taft signed House Bill 272 into law, amending the Ohio Revised Code to declare same-sex marriages against state public policy, prohibit Ohio from recognizing out-of-state same-sex marriages and civil unions, and bar the extension of marriage-like statutory benefits to nonmarital relationships. The Ohio House passed the bill 73–23 on December 10, 2003, and the Ohio Senate followed 18–15 on January 21, 2004. The law took effect on May 7, 2004, and remained in force until the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015.

Jurisdiction
Ohio
Location
Columbus, Ohio

Abuses documented

Actors

On February 6, 2004, Ohio Governor Bob Taft signed House Bill 272 — Ohio's statutory Defense of Marriage Act — into law, amending Ohio Revised Code sections 3101.01 and 3105.12. The law declared same-sex marriages to be against the strong public policy of Ohio, barred the state from recognizing out-of-state same-sex marriages and civil unions, and prohibited extending marriage-like statutory benefits to nonmarital relationships. The bill was sponsored by Representative Bill Seitz of the 125th General Assembly.

The Ohio House of Representatives had passed HB 272 by a 73–23 vote on December 10, 2003. The Ohio Senate passed it 18–15 on January 21, 2004. Governor Taft signed the measure on February 6, 2004; it took effect on May 7, 2004. Ohio's action was part of a wave of state statutory marriage bans enacted in the years following the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's November 2003 ruling in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, which authorized same-sex marriages in that state.

The statutory ban enacted by HB 272 is distinct from Ohio's subsequent constitutional amendment. On November 2, 2004, Ohio voters approved State Issue 1, an initiated constitutional amendment defining marriage as solely between one man and one woman; that measure is a separate event.

Updates

2015-06-26 — Obergefell v. Hodges invalidated Ohio's same-sex marriage ban [3]

On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that Ohio's statutory and constitutional bans on same-sex marriage violated the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantees of equal protection and due process, invalidating HB 272. Same-sex marriages began in Ohio immediately following the ruling. As of 2026, Ohio's statutory prohibition on same-sex marriage, though unenforceable, remains on the books and has not been explicitly repealed.

Why we recorded this

Equal protection under the law requires that government not classify citizens differently based on who they are. On February 6, 2004, Ohio Governor Bob Taft signed House Bill 272, enshrining a categorical exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage rights and barring the state from recognizing valid marriages performed in other jurisdictions. The law also stripped nonmarital relationships of any statutory benefits resembling marriage. This archive records the legislative and executive enactment of a state policy that treated Ohio residents unequally under law based on sexual orientation, a pattern that persisted until the U.S. Supreme Court struck it down in 2015.

Sources

  1. Sub. H.B. 272 — 125th General Assembly — Ohio General Assembly primary accessed July 20, 2026
  2. Same-sex marriage in Ohio — Wikipedia secondary accessed July 20, 2026
  3. Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015) — Justia U.S. Supreme Court primary accessed July 26, 2026

See also