2,044 events on record Subscribe September 10, 2026
Standing Record home The Standing Record A non-partisan record of US democratic norms —
and the events that erode them.

Timeline › 2004 › March

March 2004

3 entries from March 2004.

Mar 31

Georgia General Assembly referred same-sex marriage and civil union ban to voters as constitutional amendment

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.

Mar 23

Utah Gov. Olene Walker signed SB 24, banning state recognition of same-sex marriages and equivalent relationships

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.

Mar 3

Utah Legislature gave final passage to HJR025, proposing constitutional ban on same-sex marriage

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%.