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Kentucky General Assembly gave final passage to constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage recognition

On April 13, 2004, the Kentucky Senate voted 33-5 to concur in House amendments to SB 245, completing final legislative passage of a proposed constitutional amendment providing that only a marriage between one man and one woman is valid or recognized in Kentucky, and that no legal status substantially similar to marriage may be recognized for any other relationship. The Senate had initially passed the measure 33-4 on March 11, 2004, and the House passed it 85-11 on April 12, 2004. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Vernie McGaha (R-Russell Springs), was delivered to the Secretary of State as Acts Chapter 128 and placed on the November 2, 2004 general-election ballot, where voters ratified it as Constitutional Amendment 1 with approximately 75 percent in favor.

Jurisdiction
Kentucky
Location
Frankfort, Kentucky

Abuses documented

Actors

On April 13, 2004, the Kentucky Senate voted 33-5 to concur in House amendments to SB 245, completing the Kentucky General Assembly's final legislative passage of a proposed amendment to the Kentucky Constitution. The amendment provides that "only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Kentucky" and that "[a] legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized."

SB 245 was introduced on February 26, 2004, sponsored by Sen. Vernie McGaha (R-Russell Springs), with co-sponsors including Sens. G. Tapp, C. Borders, E. Harris, R. Jones II, D. Mongiardo, V. Moore, A. Robinson, R. Roeding, D. Seum, K. Stine, D. Thayer, E. Tori, and J. Westwood. The Senate passed the original bill 33-4 on March 11, 2004. The House passed an amended version 85-11 on April 12, 2004; the Senate voted 33-5 the following day to concur in the House floor amendments, completing legislative passage. The enrolled bill was delivered to the Kentucky Secretary of State on April 14, 2004, recorded as Acts Chapter 128.

Under Kentucky's constitutional-amendment procedure, a legislature-referred proposal requires no gubernatorial signature; once both chambers complete passage, the measure goes to a statewide referendum at the next general election. The amendment appeared on the November 2, 2004 general-election ballot as Constitutional Amendment 1. Kentucky voters ratified it with approximately 75 percent in favor, adding it to the Kentucky Constitution as Section 233A.

Updates

2014-02-12 — Federal court struck down Kentucky's out-of-state recognition ban [3, 5]

U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II of the Western District of Kentucky ruled in Bourke v. Beshear that the portion of Amendment 1 requiring Kentucky to refuse recognition of lawful same-sex marriages from other states violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

2015-06-26 — Obergefell v. Hodges rendered Amendment 1 void in full [4, 6]

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015), that the Fourteenth Amendment requires all states to license and recognize same-sex marriages, rendering Kentucky's Constitutional Amendment 1 unenforceable in full.

Why we recorded this

Equal protection under state constitutional law means government does not write differential treatment of a group into its founding charter based on who they are. The Kentucky General Assembly gave final passage to a proposed constitutional amendment providing that only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized in Kentucky, and prohibiting recognition of any legal status identical or substantially similar to marriage for unmarried individuals. By embedding this exclusion in the state constitution rather than ordinary statute, the legislature entrenched discrimination against same-sex couples at the foundational level of state law, making the denial of recognition far harder to reverse.

Sources

  1. SB 245 (04RS) — Regular Session 2004, Kentucky General Assembly — Kentucky Legislative Research Commission primary accessed July 20, 2026
  2. Kentucky Constitution — Section 233A: Valid or recognized marriage — Legal status of unmarried individuals — Kentucky Legislative Research Commission primary accessed July 20, 2026
  3. How Kentucky's Same-Sex Marriage Ban Began and Where It's Going — Louisville Public Media secondary accessed July 20, 2026
  4. Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015) — Justia U.S. Supreme Court primary accessed July 21, 2026
  5. Bourke v. Beshear (14-574) — SCOTUSblog secondary accessed July 24, 2026
  6. Obergefell v. Hodges (14-556) — SCOTUSblog secondary accessed July 24, 2026

See also