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Utah puts gay marriage ban to statewide vote
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| Contributor | User 13 |
| Last Edited | User 13 Mar 05, 2004 11:43am |
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| Category | News |
| News Date | Friday, March 5, 2004 06:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | The Utah Legislature voted to put a ban on same-sex marriage on the November ballot, becoming the first state in the nation to attempt to change its state constitution in direct response to a Massachusetts court ruling allowing gay and lesbian couples to legally wed.
Utah’s action is the latest development in a debate raging in more than 35 states in which lawmakers are debating or plan to introduce legislation designed to preserve the traditional concept of marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Congress entered the fray this week when the Senate held its first hearing on a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would supercede state action by banning same-sex marriages nationwide.
After several weeks of contentious debate in Utah, two-thirds of lawmakers in both legislative chambers approved a ballot initiative Wednesday (March 3) that takes the first step toward changing Utah’s Constitution. Observers expect it to pass in a statewide vote this November.
Four states – Alaska, Hawaii, Nebraska and Nevada – already have bans against same-sex marriage written into their constitutions. No statewide referendum to ban same-sex marriage ever has been voted down.
Utah law already prohibits same-sex couples from marrying, but lawmakers said enshrining the prohibition in the state constitution is necessary to prevent the state from being forced to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere.
“Something has to be done to put us on equal footing with Massachusetts,” said Utah state Sen. Dave Thomas (R). “If Massachusetts’ Supreme (Judicial) Court says their constitution now grants (same-sex couples the right to marry), then statutory laws banning same-sex marriage in other states aren’t good enough. We have to put our constitution on the same footing.”
State legislative activity was sparked by a landmark November 2003 ruling by Massachusetts’ highest state court that will legalize gay marriage in the Bay State as of May 17. The debate |
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