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February 2005

4 entries from February 2005.

Feb 26

Virginia General Assembly gave first passage to HJ586, a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and equivalent legal recognition

On February 26, 2005, both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly adopted the conference committee report on HJ586, a joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment to restrict marriage to one man and one woman and bar recognition of any comparable legal status. The House agreed to the conference report 79-17 and the Senate agreed 30-10, completing the first of two required legislative passages under Virginia's amendment process. The resolution was enacted as Chapter 946 of the 2005 Acts of Assembly, setting the stage for a second passage in the next session and a statewide referendum.

Virginia General Assembly completed first passage of SJ337, constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage recognition

On February 26, 2005, the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates both agreed to the conference report on SJ337, a proposed state constitutional amendment providing that only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage recognized by Virginia and barring the Commonwealth from recognizing any other union assigned the rights or effects of marriage. The vote completed the first of two required successive-session passages under Virginia's constitutional-amendment procedure; SJ337 was sponsored by Sen. Stephen D. Newman and was enacted as Chapter 949 of the 2005 Acts of Assembly.

Feb 14

South Dakota Legislature passed HJR1001, referring constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage to voters

On February 14, 2005, the South Dakota Senate voted 20-15 to give final passage to House Joint Resolution 1001, completing the legislature's bicameral approval after the House passed it 53-16 on January 24, 2005. HJR1001, sponsored by Rep. Elizabeth Kraus and Sen. John Koskan, proposed a new amendment to Article XXI of the South Dakota Constitution restricting legal marriage to a man and a woman and referred it to voters at the next general election. South Dakota voters approved the resulting measure, Amendment C, on November 7, 2006.

Feb 2

Kansas Legislature referred SCR1601, a constitutional same-sex marriage ban, to voters

The Kansas Senate adopted 2005 Senate Concurrent Resolution 1601 28-11 on January 13, 2005, and the House of Representatives concurred 86-37 on February 2, 2005, completing the two-thirds supermajority required in both chambers to place a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage before voters. The amendment declared marriage a civil contract between one man and one woman, voided all other marriages, and barred state recognition of any other relationship as entitled to the rights or incidents of marriage; voters ratified it by roughly a 2-to-1 margin at the April 5, 2005 election.