The Standing Record
A non-partisan record of US democratic norms —12 entries from 2004.
On September 18, 2004, Louisiana voters approved Constitutional Amendment 1, originating as HB61 (Act No. 926), adding Article XII, Section 15 to the Louisiana Constitution. The amendment defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman and barred state and local recognition of any legal status substantially equivalent to marriage for same-sex couples, including civil unions.
On May 14, 2004, the Missouri General Assembly gave final legislative passage to Senate Joint Resolution 29 (SJR29), sponsored by Sen. Sarah Steelman, proposing a constitutional amendment declaring that only a marriage between a man and a woman would be valid or recognized in Missouri and barring legal recognition of any status resembling marriage for unmarried persons. The Missouri Senate had passed SJR29 on March 1, 2004; the House passed it on May 14, 2004, and the measure was certified as "Truly Agreed to and Finally Passed," sending it to the ballot as Amendment 2. As a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, SJR29 bypassed the governor's signature and veto power entirely.
On May 14, 2004, New Hampshire Governor Craig Benson signed Senate Bill 427 (Chapter 100, Laws of 2004), enacting a statutory bar to legal recognition of out-of-state same-sex marriages in New Hampshire. The act repealed and reenacted RSA 457:3 to withhold legal validity from any out-of-state marriage prohibited under New Hampshire law — effectively targeting same-sex marriages from states such as Massachusetts, which had begun issuing same-sex marriage licenses three days later. The legislation also created a legislative-executive-judicial commission to study all aspects of same-sex civil marriage and its legal equivalents, with a final report due December 1, 2005.
On May 3, 2004, Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry signed HB 1821, amending the state's Adoption Code to prohibit joint or second-parent adoption by more than one individual of the same sex and to require registration and judicial review of out-of-state adoption decrees, effectively barring Oklahoma from recognizing same-sex couple adoptions granted in other states. The bill passed the Oklahoma House 94-0 and the Oklahoma Senate 44-0 before reaching the governor, and took immediate effect under an emergency clause.
The Oklahoma State Senate passed HB2259 38-7 on April 15, 2004, and the Oklahoma House of Representatives voted 92-4 to concur on April 22, 2004, completing the Legislature's referral of State Question 711 — a proposed constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman only — to Oklahoma voters. The amendment barred recognition of any same-sex marriage performed in another jurisdiction and made it a misdemeanor to knowingly issue a marriage license in violation. Oklahoma voters approved SQ711 by approximately 76 percent on November 2, 2004.
On April 21, 2004, the Virginia General Assembly passed the Affirmation of Marriage Act (HB 751), chief-patroned by Del. Robert G. Marshall, declaring that same-sex civil unions, partnership contracts, and any related contractual rights are void and unenforceable in Virginia. The enrolled bill passed the House 69–30 and the Senate 27–12 after Governor Mark Warner's recommendation to narrow the bill was rejected; it became law without the Governor's signature as Chapter 983 of the 2004 Acts of Assembly, effective July 1, 2004. The law voided not only civil unions created elsewhere but also private-contract rights — including domestic-partner benefits, hospital visitation agreements, and inheritance arrangements — that same-sex couples had established.
On April 14, 2004, the Mississippi Legislature completed passage of House Concurrent Resolution 56, enrolling a proposed constitutional amendment and referring it to the statewide ballot as Chapter 620. The resolution defined marriage as valid in Mississippi only between a man and a woman and declared same-gender marriages from other jurisdictions void and unenforceable, eventually ratified as Article XIV, Section 263-A of the Mississippi Constitution.
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.
On March 31, 2004, the Georgia General Assembly gave final passage to Senate Resolution 595, referring a proposed constitutional amendment to the November 2004 ballot that would define marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman, bar state recognition of same-sex civil unions, and strip Georgia courts of jurisdiction over related claims. The Georgia House cast the decisive vote 122-52, clearing the required two-thirds supermajority, after the Senate had earlier passed the resolution by the same threshold. Georgia voters approved the measure as Amendment 1 on November 2, 2004, by a 76 percent to 24 percent margin.
On March 23, 2004, Utah Governor Olene Walker signed S.B. 24, the "Marriage Recognition Policy," into law, effective the same day as Session Law Chapter 261. The bill, passed by the Utah Senate 24–4 and the Utah House 62–12, banned recognition of same-sex marriages and any relationship status "substantially equivalent" to marriage within Utah. The legislation was a statutory non-recognition provision distinct from the same-session HJR 025 constitutional referral, which sent Amendment 3 to voters.
On March 3, 2004, the Utah Legislature completed final passage of House Joint Resolution 25 (HJR025), proposing to add Article I, Section 29 to the Utah Constitution, defining marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman and prohibiting legal recognition of any other domestic union. The Utah Senate passed the resolution 20-7-2 on March 3, 2004, after adding a floor amendment, and the Utah House concurred 58-14-3 the same day. Referred to voters, it was approved as Amendment 3 on November 2, 2004, by a margin of 65.8% to 33.2%.
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.