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Timeline

Every entry in the archive, ordered by event date. Page 42 of 43, showing March 22, 2005 to June 1, 2021. Pages contain 50 entries each; entries for a given date may continue on the next or previous page.

2021 Events (18)

June(2)

Florida Gov. DeSantis signed SB 1028 enacting the Fairness in Women's Sports Act banning transgender athletes

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed CS/CS/SB 1028 on June 1, 2021, an education omnibus bill whose Section 12 created the "Fairness in Women's Sports Act," requiring public school and university athletic teams to be designated by "biological sex at birth" and barring students of the male sex from female-designated teams. The bill passed the Florida Senate 29-11 and House 79-37 largely along party lines.

May(5)

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed HB1233, creating private right of action against schools over transgender students' bathroom access

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed House Bill 1233 into law on May 19, 2021, enacting Public Chapter 452, the Tennessee Accommodations for All Children Act. The law defines sex by birth anatomy, limits schools to single-occupancy accommodations for students seeking facility privacy, and creates a private civil right of action against a school district that knowingly allows a member of the opposite sex into a multi-occupancy restroom, changing facility, or sleeping quarters.

Tennessee Gov. Lee signed HB1182, requiring businesses to post signs disclosing transgender-inclusive restroom policies

On May 19, 2021, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed HB 1182 into law as Public Chapter 453, requiring any business or facility open to the public that maintains a transgender-inclusive restroom policy to post a government-scripted warning sign at each restroom entrance. Sponsored by state Rep. Tim Rudd (R-Murfreesboro), the law passed the House 62-25 and took effect July 1, 2021, with noncompliant businesses facing criminal enforcement.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB0126, barring hormone treatment for prepubertal transgender minors

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed Senate Bill 126 into law on May 18, 2021, enacting Public Chapter 460. The law bars healthcare prescribers from providing hormone treatment to prepubertal (Tanner stage 1) transgender or gender-incongruent minors, while preserving hormone treatment for minors with growth deficiencies or other diagnoses unrelated to gender dysphoria or gender incongruence.

Montana Gov. Gianforte signed HB 112 barring transgender athletes from women's school sports

On May 7, 2021, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed House Bill 112, sponsored by Rep. John Fuller, requiring K-16 school and university sports teams to be organized by sex assigned at birth and barring transgender women and girls from competing on female teams. The governor's office signed the bill without a public ceremony or statement; the signing was first reported after the bill's status updated on the Legislature's tracking system.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB1229, requiring parental notice and opt-out for LGBTQ curriculum

On May 5, 2021, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB1229 into law as Public Chapter 281, requiring public schools and charter schools to give parents at least 30 days' notice before teaching any sexual-orientation or gender-identity curriculum and to let parents excuse their child from that instruction in writing. The law imposes no comparable parental-consent requirement on any other curricular subject and specifies that schools are not required to offer such curriculum at all.

April(5)

Montana Gov. Gianforte signed SB 280, requiring surgery and a court order to amend a birth certificate's sex marker

On April 30, 2021, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed Senate Bill 280, sponsored by Sen. Carl Glimm, reversing a 2017 Department of Public Health and Human Services rule that had let transgender Montanans update the sex designation on their birth certificate to match their gender identity. SB 280 instead required DPHHS to receive a court order confirming the person underwent gender-affirmation surgery before it would amend the sex marker, and took effect immediately upon signing.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice signed HB3293, banning transgender girls and women from school sports teams

On April 28, 2021, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice signed House Bill 3293 into law, barring transgender girls and women from competing on public school and collegiate sports teams designated for female athletes, based on "biological sex" determined at birth. West Virginia was among a wave of Republican-led states enacting similar sports restrictions that year, following South Dakota, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Tennessee.

Arkansas Gov. Hutchinson signed SB450, adding AG enforcement to the state's transgender sports ban

On April 27, 2021, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed SB450, the "Gender Integrity Reinforcement Legislation for Sports (GIRLS) Act," into law as Act 953 of 2021, roughly a month after signing the state's first sex-based sports-eligibility law, SB354. The law requires K-12 and postsecondary athletic teams sponsored by state-funded entities to be designated by sex based on anatomy and genetics at birth, bars students of "the male sex" from female-designated teams, and creates a civil cause of action letting the Attorney General sue non-complying schools for injunctive relief plus a one-year bar on receiving public funds.

Alabama Gov. Ivey signed HB391, barring transgender youth from K-12 school sports

On April 23, 2021, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed HB391 into law, prohibiting public K-12 schools from participating in, sponsoring, or providing coaching staff for interscholastic athletic events in which transgender athletes compete on teams matching their gender identity. The Alabama House passed the bill 73-19-2 on March 18, 2021, and the Senate concurred on April 20, 2021, before Ivey's signature.

Arkansas legislature overrode veto to enact HB1570/Act 626, banning gender-affirming care for minors

On April 6, 2021, the Arkansas House (72-25) and Senate (25-8) voted to override Governor Asa Hutchinson's veto and enact HB1570 as Act 626, the "Arkansas Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act." The law bars physicians from providing gender-transition medical care to anyone under 18 and bars public or private insurance from covering such care for minors, making Arkansas the first state to enact this kind of ban.

March(3)

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB 228, requiring K-12 school sports participation be based on sex assigned at birth

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed Senate Bill 228 into law on March 26, 2021, enacting Public Chapter No. 40 and requiring that a student's eligibility for public middle and high school interscholastic athletics be determined by the sex indicated on the student's original birth certificate. The law exempted kindergarten through grade 4, took effect immediately for the 2021-2022 school year, and barred transgender students from competing on teams consistent with their gender identity.

Arkansas Gov. Hutchinson signed SB354, barring transgender athletes from girls' and women's school sports

On March 25, 2021, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed SB354, the "Fairness in Women's Sports Act," into law as Act 461 of 2021. The law limits K-12 and college athletic teams designated for females to students whose biological sex is female, barring transgender girls and women from competing on those teams, and creates a private cause of action for a student or school harmed by a violation. Sponsored by Sen. Missy Irvin and Rep. Jim Barker, the bill passed the Arkansas Senate on March 10, 2021, and the House on March 22, 2021, before reaching Hutchinson's desk.

Mississippi Gov. Reeves signed SB 2536 banning transgender students from women's and girls' school sports

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves signed SB 2536, the "Mississippi Fairness Act," on March 11, 2021, barring transgender students from competing on women's and girls' sports teams at the state's public K-12 schools and universities. The bill designates those teams as not "open to students of the male sex" without establishing how sex is determined or how eligibility disputes are resolved. It was the first anti- transgender law enacted in the United States that year.

2020 Events (3)

March(2)

Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed HB 509, barring transgender residents from correcting birth-certificate sex markers

On March 30, 2020, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed House Bill 509 into law, adding Idaho Code 39-245A and requiring birth certificates to record sex as an immutable, biology-based category fixed at conception. The law forecloses amending a birth certificate's sex field based on gender identity, permitting correction only within one year via a notarized affidavit attesting the original entry misstated a fact at birth, or afterward only through a court finding of fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact. It passed the Idaho House 53-16-1 and Senate 27-6-2 and took effect July 1, 2020, as Session Law Chapter 334.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed H0500, the nation's first law barring transgender athletes from women's sports

On March 30, 2020, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed House Bill 500, the "Fairness in Women's Sports Act," into law as the first law of its kind in the nation. The act requires K-12 and college athletic teams designated "female," "women's," or "girls'" to be limited to students whose sex assigned at birth is female, barring transgender girls and women from competing on those teams. It passed the Idaho House 52-17-1 and Senate 24-11-0 before being signed into law.

January(1)

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed HB 836 shielding faith-based adoption agencies that deny LGBTQ+ families

On January 24, 2020, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed House Bill 836 into law as Public Chapter 514, amending Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 36, Chapter 1, Part 1. The law bars the state from requiring a private licensed child-placing agency to perform, assist, consent to, refer, or participate in any foster-care or adoption placement that would violate the agency's written religious or moral convictions, and shields such agencies from lawsuits and licensing retaliation for refusing an applicant on those grounds. It passed the Senate 20-6 on January 14, 2020, after passing the House 67-22 on April 1, 2019.

2019 Events (1)

October(1)

Orleans Parish DA extracted 2019 guilty plea from Elvis Brooks despite knowing it had withheld exculpatory fingerprint evidence

On October 15, 2019, the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office, then led by Leon Cannizzaro, secured a guilty plea from Elvis Brooks to a reduced manslaughter charge -- roughly two weeks after an internal meeting in which a prosecutor from Brooks's original 1977 trial admitted, per a memo Brooks's legal team later found, that fingerprint evidence excluding Brooks had never been turned over to the defense. A court vacated the plea and the underlying 1977 conviction in 2022 after finding the withholding, but the Louisiana Attorney General has since fought to reinstate the case and block Brooks's compensation claim.

2018 Events (2)

May(1)

Oklahoma Gov. Fallin signed SB 1140, shielding religious-exemption foster and adoption agencies

On May 11, 2018, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin signed Senate Bill 1140, allowing private, state-licensed child-placement agencies to decline foster-care or adoption placements, counseling, or referrals that conflict with the agency's written religious or moral convictions. The bill passed the Senate 33-7 and the House 56-21 before Fallin's signature. LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, including Oklahomans for Equality and the ACLU of Oklahoma, said the law licenses agencies to turn away qualified prospective parents.

March(1)

Connecticut prison officers struck and pepper-sprayed inmate J'Allen Jones, who died; medical examiner ruled the death a homicide

On March 25, 2018, correctional officers at Connecticut's Garner Correctional Institution struck, hooded, and pepper-sprayed J'Allen Jones, a 31-year-old incarcerated man in a schizophrenic crisis, who then lost consciousness and died. The state medical examiner ruled the death a homicide, but a Department of Correction internal review found no use-of-force violation and imposed one-day suspensions on the officers and a nurse. The department fought for years to keep video of the death sealed, until a judge ordered its public release in 2026.

2017 Events (7)

July(1)

Missouri Gov. Greitens signed law subjecting abortion clinics alone to annual unannounced inspections that other surgical centers escape

On July 26, 2017, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens signed SB 5 into law, reclassifying the state's abortion facilities into a separate regulatory category and mandating annual, unannounced state inspections -- a schedule the roughly 120 other ambulatory surgical centers in Missouri do not face, which are instead inspected every three to four years. The law, sponsored by state Sen. Andrew Koenig, passed the Missouri General Assembly 22-9 in a summer special session and also gave the state attorney general authority to override local prosecutors on abortion cases.

June(1)

Texas Gov. Abbott signed HB 3859, shielding faith-based child welfare providers that refuse LGBTQ placements

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed HB 3859 on June 15, 2017, creating Human Resources Code Chapter 45 to bar the state and government-contracted child-placement entities from penalizing a child welfare services provider that declines, on religious grounds, to provide or facilitate services including placements, contraception/abortion referrals, or contracts inconsistent with its beliefs. The law exempts race, ethnicity, and national origin from the refusal but includes no equivalent carve-out for sexual orientation or gender identity, letting state-funded, state-licensed faith-based foster and adoption agencies decline to place children with same-sex couples, LGBTQ individuals, or people of other faiths.

May(2)

Texas Gov. Abbott signed HB100, defining "sex" in ride-hailing nondiscrimination law to exclude gender identity

On May 29, 2017, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed HB100, a statewide ride-hailing regulatory framework that preempted local ordinances. During House debate, Rep. Tony Tinderholt amended the bill's new driver nondiscrimination policy to define "sex" as "the physical condition of being male or female," language contemporaneous reporting tied to the same session's transgender restroom-access fight; a Senate committee substitute briefly stripped the amendment before the committee reinstated the House version and the bill was signed into law.

Alabama Gov. Ivey signed HB24, shielding religious-exemption adoption and foster agencies

On May 3, 2017, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signed House Bill 24, the "Child Placing Agency Inclusion Act" (Act No. 2017-213), barring the state from withholding a license, contract, or funding from a private, state-licensed child-placing agency that declines -- on religious grounds -- to provide a placement or other service conflicting with its written religious beliefs. The protection applies only to agencies that do not accept state or federal funds. Advocacy groups including the Human Rights Campaign and ACLU of Alabama said the law's practical effect is to let faith-based agencies turn away qualified prospective parents, including same-sex couples.

April(1)

Alabama Gov. Ivey signed HB95 letting providers refuse abortion, sterilization, cloning, and stem-cell services on conscience grounds

On April 27, 2017, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed HB95, the "Health Care Rights of Conscience Act" (Act 2017-189), sponsored by Rep. Arnold Mooney. The law lets any health care provider refuse to participate in a "health care service" — narrowly defined by the statute as abortion, sterilization, human cloning, or embryonic stem-cell research — by filing a written conscience objection in advance, with an exception only when no alternate provider is available and a patient's life is in immediate danger.

March(2)

North Carolina Gov. Cooper signed HB142, repealing HB2 but preempting local LGBTQ nondiscrimination ordinances

On March 30, 2017, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed House Bill 142 (Session Law 2017-4), repealing the state's 2016 "bathroom bill" while replacing it with a permanent state claim over multi-occupancy restroom access and a moratorium on local nondiscrimination ordinances through December 1, 2020. LGBTQ advocacy groups and legal observers said the measure fell short of a true repeal, since it continued to bar cities such as Charlotte from adopting protections covering sexual orientation and gender identity.

South Dakota Gov. Daugaard signed SB 149, shielding taxpayer-funded child-placement agencies that refuse LGBTQ+ parents

On March 10, 2017, South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard signed Senate Bill 149 into law, making South Dakota the first state to enact anti-LGBTQ legislation in 2017. The law bars the state from taking adverse action -- revoking licenses, contracts, tax-exempt status, or state-benefit-program participation -- against taxpayer-funded, religiously affiliated child-placement agencies that decline, on religious or moral grounds, to place children with LGBTQ+ or other prospective parents. The South Dakota Legislature passed the bill 43-20 in the House and 27-8 in the Senate before it reached Daugaard's desk.

2016 Events (2)

April(1)

Mississippi Gov. Bryant signed HB 1523, authorizing religion-based denial of service to LGBT people

On April 5, 2016, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed HB 1523, the "Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act," into law. The statute lets state employees, private businesses, religious organizations, and state-funded providers refuse services based on three specified religious beliefs about marriage, sex, and gender, shielding refusal of marriage licenses to same-sex couples and denial of services to LGBT people and unmarried people. A federal judge enjoined the law in June 2016, but the Fifth Circuit later reversed on standing grounds and it took effect on October 9, 2017.

March(1)

North Carolina Gov. McCrory signed HB2, barring transgender bathroom access and preempting local nondiscrimination ordinances

On March 23, 2016, in a one-day special session, the North Carolina General Assembly passed House Bill 2, the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, and Gov. Pat McCrory signed it into law that evening. The law required multi-occupancy bathrooms and changing facilities in public schools and public agencies to be designated for use based on the sex stated on a person's birth certificate, and barred local governments from enacting nondiscrimination ordinances covering employment and public accommodations, nullifying Charlotte's LGBTQ-inclusive ordinance that had prompted the special session.

2015 Events (1)

February(1)

Arkansas Gov. Hutchinson allowed SB202 to become law without his signature, nullifying Fayetteville's LGBT ordinance

On February 24, 2015, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson allowed SB202 to become Act 137 without his signature, barring Arkansas cities and counties from adopting nondiscrimination protections broader than state law. The measure nullified Fayetteville's LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance and preempted similar local measures statewide.

2014 Events (1)

February(1)

Indiana General Assembly passed amended HJR-3, a constitutional same-sex marriage ban

On January 28, 2014, the Indiana House of Representatives voted 57-40 to pass an amended version of House Joint Resolution 3, a proposed state constitutional amendment providing that "only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Indiana," after first stripping a second sentence that would have also barred civil unions and domestic-partnership benefits. The Indiana Senate passed the same amended language 32-17 on February 17, 2014, completing the resolution's passage by the 2014 General Assembly; because Indiana requires an identically worded amendment to pass two separately elected General Assemblies before going to a public referendum, the change restarted that two-Assembly clock and the measure did not reach the 2014 ballot.

2012 Events (1)

March(1)

South Dakota Gov. Daugaard signed SB130, barring school anti-bullying policies from naming any protected classes

On March 16, 2012, South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard signed SB130 (SL 2012, ch 96), requiring school districts to adopt anti-bullying policies while barring those policies — new or already in effect — from naming any protected classes of students. The enacted text compelled districts to strip any existing enumerated-category language, such as protections based on sexual orientation or gender identity, from their bullying policies.

2011 Events (4)

September(1)

North Carolina General Assembly passed SB514, referring same-sex marriage ban constitutional amendment to 2012 ballot

On September 13, 2011, the North Carolina Senate concurred with the House 30-16, completing General Assembly passage of Senate Bill 514, a constitutional amendment providing that marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union valid or recognized in the state. The House had passed the measure 75-42 the day before; the bill was ratified as Session Law 2011-409 on September 14, 2011, referring the amendment to a May 8, 2012 statewide ballot.

May(1)

Minnesota Legislature passed SF1308, referring same-sex marriage ban to November 2012 ballot

On May 21, 2011, the Minnesota House of Representatives voted 70-62 to pass SF1308/HF1613, completing legislative approval after the Senate passed the measure 38-27 on May 11, 2011. The joint resolution proposed a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as solely between one man and one woman and referred the question directly to the November 2012 general-election ballot, bypassing the governor's signature. The measure was filed with the Secretary of State as Chapter 88, Laws of 2011, on May 25, 2011.

April(1)

Arizona Gov. Brewer signed SB1188, giving adoption agencies a married-couple preference amid state ban on same-sex marriage

On April 18, 2011, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed Senate Bill 1188, amending A.R.S. § 8-103 to require licensed adoption agencies to give "primary consideration" to placement with "a married man and woman," with single-individual placement permitted only under enumerated exceptions. Because Arizona's constitution then banned same-sex marriage, no same-sex couple could ever qualify for the top preference tier, and ACLU attorneys publicly characterized the law as discrimination against gay couples via a marital-status proxy.

March(1)

Indiana Senate passed HJR 6, completing first-passage of anti-LGBTQ marriage constitutional amendment

On March 29, 2011, the Indiana Senate voted 40-10 to pass House Joint Resolution 6 (HJR 6), a proposed state constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman and denying legal recognition to any "legal status identical or substantially similar" to marriage, thereby also barring civil unions and domestic partnerships. The Indiana House of Representatives had already passed the same resolution 70-26 on February 15, 2011, so the Senate vote completed passage of HJR 6 by the 2011 General Assembly.

2008 Events (2)

June(1)

Arizona Legislature referred SCR1042, a constitutional same-sex marriage ban, to voters

On June 27, 2008, the Arizona Senate concurred in House amendments and gave final passage to Senate Concurrent Resolution 1042, referring a proposed amendment to the Arizona Constitution (Article XXX) providing that "only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state." The Senate had adopted the measure March 26, 2008 and the House passed it May 12, 2008; it was filed with the Secretary of State June 30, 2008 and went to voters as Proposition 102 that November.

March(1)

Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. signed SB 299, preempting local civil-union and domestic-partnership registries statewide

Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. signed S.B. 299 ("Revision to Local Government") on March 14, 2008, enacting Utah Code 10-8-1.5 and 17-50-324. The law permits municipalities to extend individual employment benefits to a "financially dependent or interdependent adult designee" but bars any county or municipal registry from defining, identifying, or recognizing a domestic partnership, civil union, or cohabitation relationship other than marriage, voiding inconsistent local ordinances such as Salt Lake City's concurrent registry.

2007 Events (3)

March(3)

South Carolina General Assembly ratified H.3063, enacting a constitutional same-sex marriage ban

On March 22, 2007, the South Carolina General Assembly ratified H.3063 (Act No. 7), formally enacting into the state constitution the amendment providing that marriage between one man and one woman is the only lawful domestic union the state or its political subdivisions may create or recognize. The act completed a process begun with the legislature's 2005 referral of the amendment (HJR3133/Joint Resolution 45) and South Carolina voters' November 7, 2006 approval of it (77.97%-22.03%); no governor's signature was required for the ratification act.

Utah Gov. Huntsman signed HB 343, codifying married-couple preference that excluded same-sex couples from adoption and foster placement

Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. signed H.B. 343 on March 14, 2007, codifying a married-couple preference and cohabitation-based bar into the state's adoption and foster-placement law. Because Utah did not recognize same-sex marriage in 2007, the marriage-based mechanism categorically excluded same-sex couples from the preferred adoption tier and from eligibility for joint foster placement, while leaving married opposite-sex couples and non-cohabiting single adults eligible. The law extended into statute a policy the Division of Child and Family Services had first adopted administratively in 1999.

Utah Gov. Huntsman signed Student Clubs Act requiring parental consent to join school clubs; sponsor said it targets gay-straight alliances

Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. signed HB236, the Student Clubs Amendments ("Student Clubs Act"), into law on 2007-03-09, requiring written parental consent before a student may join any noncurricular club and letting school officials deny club authorization on vague grounds including protecting students' "moral well-being" and maintaining "socially appropriate" behavior. Chief House sponsor Rep. Aaron Tilton, R-Springville, said the bill "makes it easier for schools to deny noncurricular clubs like gay-straight alliances."

2006 Events (6)

July(1)

Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt signed SB 894, barring school anti-bullying policies from naming protected student classes

On July 10, 2006, Missouri Governor Matt Blunt signed CCS/HCS/SS/SCS/SB 894, an education bill passed by the Missouri General Assembly requiring every school district to adopt an anti-bullying policy by September 1, 2007. The law barred those mandatory policies from containing "specific lists of protected classes of students," preventing districts from naming LGBT or other groups as specifically protected even as the underlying policy was made compulsory statewide.

May(1)

Georgia Gov. Perdue signed law requiring parental opt-out disclosure for school clubs, targeting Gay-Straight Alliances

Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue signed SB 413 into law on May 5, 2006, an omnibus amendment to the state's compulsory school attendance statute that added new Code Section 20-2-705, requiring local school boards to publish every club's name, purpose, and faculty advisor in student codes of conduct and to give parents or guardians a form to decline their child's participation in any listed club. The provision followed the formation of a Gay-Straight Alliance-type club (PRIDE) at White County High School, and contemporaneous reporting and the bill's legislative opponents identified it as aimed at disclosing and letting parents veto students' participation in LGBTQ-supportive clubs.

March(1)

Virginia General Assembly gave final passage to constitutional amendment banning recognition of same-sex marriage and civil unions

On March 7, 2006, the Virginia House of Delegates voted 76-22 to give final approval to SJ92, completing the second of two required successive-session passages of a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as only between one man and one woman and barring recognition of any other union, partnership, or legal status carrying marriage-like rights or obligations. The measure, chief-patroned by Senator Stephen D. Newman, was sent to Virginia voters, who ratified it in November 2006 as the Marshall-Newman Amendment.

February(2)

Wisconsin Legislature gave final passage to constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage

On February 28, 2006, the Wisconsin Assembly voted 62-31, with six members paired, to concur in 2005 Senate Joint Resolution 53, completing the second required legislative passage of a proposed amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman. The Wisconsin Senate had adopted the resolution 19-14 on December 6, 2005. The Assembly's concurrence sent the amendment to the November 2006 general election ballot, where voters approved it and it took effect.

Idaho Legislature passed HJR002, referring constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and other unmarried unions to voters

The Idaho Legislature completed passage of House Joint Resolution 2 (HJR002) on February 15, 2006, referring a new Section 28 to Article III of the Idaho Constitution to voters, providing that "a marriage between a man and a woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this state." The House passed the measure 53-17 on February 6, 2006, and the Senate gave final passage 26-9 on February 15, 2006, completing the legislature's referral.

January(1)

Wisconsin Gov. Doyle approved law banning state funds for gender-affirming care for transgender prisoners and forensic patients

On January 6, 2006, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle approved 2005 Assembly Bill 184, published as 2005 Wisconsin Act 105, which created Wis. Stat. § 302.386(5m) barring the Department of Corrections from using state funds, state resources, or state-administered federal funds to provide or facilitate hormone therapy or sexual reassignment surgery for prisoners or forensic patients. The Assembly had passed the bill 82-15 and the Senate concurred in 2005 before Doyle's approval completed its enactment.

2005 Events (9)

May(1)

Texas Legislature gave final passage to HJR 6, referring same-sex marriage and civil union constitutional ban to voters

On May 21, 2005, the Texas Senate passed House Joint Resolution 6 on a vote of 21 to 8, completing bicameral passage of the measure. The Texas House had passed the amended resolution 101 to 29 on April 25, 2005. HJR 6 proposed a state constitutional amendment declaring that marriage in Texas consists only of the union of one man and one woman and prohibiting the state or any political subdivision from creating or recognizing any legal status identical or similar to marriage for same-sex couples. The resolution was placed on the November 8, 2005 ballot as Proposition 2, where voters approved it by more than 76 percent.

April(1)

South Carolina Legislature completed passage of HJR3133, a constitutional same-sex marriage ban, referring it to voters

The South Carolina House passed H.3133 (A45, R51) 96-3 on March 1, 2005, proposing a constitutional amendment limiting lawful domestic unions to one man and one woman; the Senate amended and passed it 2005-04-14, and the House concurred in the Senate amendment and enrolled the bill on 2005-04-26, completing the General Assembly's referral of the amendment to voters. The measure was ratified 2005-04-28 without need for the governor's signature, and voters approved the resulting Amendment 1 on November 7, 2006.

March(3)

Indiana Senate and House passed SJR 7, first-passage constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage recognition

The Indiana Senate voted 42-8 on February 21, 2005 to pass Senate Joint Resolution 7, proposing a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman and barring any law from being construed to confer marital status or its legal incidents on unmarried couples. The Indiana House of Representatives passed the identical text without amendment 76-23 on March 22, 2005 and returned it to the Senate, completing first passage by the 114th General Assembly.