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May 2004

3 entries from May 2004.

May 14

Missouri General Assembly passed SJR29, constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage

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.

New Hampshire Gov. Craig Benson signed SB 427, denying legal recognition to out-of-state same-sex marriages

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 The act repealed and reenacted RSA 457:3 to withhold legal validity from any out-of-state marriage prohibited under New Hampshire law — effectively targeting same-sex marriages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.

May 3

Oklahoma enacted HB 1821, barring joint adoption by same-sex couples and blocking recognition of their out-of-state adoptions

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.