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Tennessee Legislature gave final passage to SJR0031, proposing constitutional ban on same-sex marriage

On March 17, 2005, the Tennessee House of Representatives voted 88-7-1 to concur with the Senate's prior passage of Senate Joint Resolution 31 (SJR0031), completing the second of two legislative sessions required under Tennessee's amendment process to send a proposed constitutional marriage ban to voters. The resolution defined marriage as "a contract between one man and one woman." Placed on the November 2006 ballot as Amendment 1, it was approved by approximately 81 percent of voters.

Jurisdiction
Tennessee
Location
Nashville, Tennessee

Abuses documented

Actors

  • Tennessee State Senate
  • Tennessee House of Representatives

On March 17, 2005, the Tennessee House of Representatives voted 88-7-1 to concur with the Senate and give final passage to Senate Joint Resolution 31 (SJR0031), a measure proposing an amendment to Article XI of the Tennessee Constitution to define marriage as "a contract between one man and one woman." The Senate had adopted the resolution 29-3 on February 28, 2005. Because Tennessee's constitution requires a proposed amendment to receive majority approval in two successive general assemblies before going to voters, this House concurrence vote — in the 104th General Assembly — completed the second and final required legislative passage.

Updates

2006-11-07 — Tennessee voters approved Amendment 1, ratifying the constitutional ban on same-sex marriage [2]

Tennessee voters approved Amendment 1 on November 7, 2006, by roughly 81 percent, making the ban a permanent part of the state constitution.

2015-06-26 — Obergefell v. Hodges rendered Tennessee's same-sex marriage ban unenforceable [3]

The U.S. Supreme Court held in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015), that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry under the Fourteenth Amendment, rendering state marriage bans including Tennessee's Amendment 1 unenforceable.

Why we recorded this

Democratic equality rests on the principle that the state may not categorically exclude a class of citizens from civil institutions on the basis of identity. On March 17, 2005, the Tennessee Legislature completed final passage of SJR0031, a joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment to define marriage exclusively as a contract between one man and one woman. By embedding that exclusion directly in the state constitution — later ratified by voters as Amendment 1 in November 2006 — the legislature converted a discriminatory policy into fundamental law, foreclosing judicial relief and legislative correction for same-sex couples seeking equal access to civil marriage.

Sources

  1. Bill Information — SJR0031, 104th General Assembly — Tennessee General Assembly primary accessed July 20, 2026
  2. Tennessee Amendment 1 (2006) — Wikipedia secondary accessed July 20, 2026
  3. Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015) — Justia primary accessed July 26, 2026

See also