Same-sex marriage in Idaho has been legally recognized since October 15, 2014. In May 2014, the

U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

in the case of ''

Latta v. Otter ''Latta v. Otter'' is a case initiated in 2013 in U.S. federal court by plaintiffs seeking to prevent the state of Idaho from enforcing its ban on same-sex marriage. The plaintiffs won in U.S. District Court. The case was appealed to the Ninth Cir ...

'' found

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

's statutory and state constitutional bans on

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

unconstitutional, but enforcement of that ruling was stayed pending appeal. The

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

affirmed that ruling on October 7, 2014, though the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

issued a stay of the ruling, which was not lifted until October 15, 2014.

Opinion poll An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll (although strictly a poll is an actual election) is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinion ...

s have shown that a majority or plurality of Idaho residents support same-sex marriage.

Legal history

Statutes

After the

Hawaii Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Hawaii is the highest court of the State of Hawaii in the United States. Its decisions are binding on all other courts of the Hawaii State Judiciary. The principal purpose of the Supreme Court is to review the decisions of ...

seemed poised to legalize same-sex marriage in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

in ''Baehr v. Miike'' in 1993, the Idaho Legislature amended its marriage statutes in 1995 to specifically specify that a marriage was to be between a man and a woman. The changes took effect on January 1, 1996. Fearing it would have to recognize same-sex marriages Same-sex marriage in Hawaii, conducted in Hawaii, Idaho further amended its marriage laws to prohibit recognition of out-of-state same-sex marriages in 1996. Governor Phil Batt signed the legislation, which took immediate effect on March 18, 1996.

Constitutional amendment

On February 11, 2004, the Idaho House of Representatives, by a 53 to 17 vote, approved a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and its "legal equivalent" in the state. The Idaho State Senate failed to vote on the amendment. On February 2, 2005, the Senate, by a 21–14 vote, failed to approve a similar constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and any "legal status similar to that of marriage". On February 6, 2006, the House of Representatives, by a 53 to 17 vote, approved 2006 Idaho Amendment 2, Amendment 2, a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and any "domestic legal union" in the state. The Senate approved the constitutional amendment on February 15 by a 26–9 vote, and it was approved by voters on November 7, 2006. The amendment was found to be unconstitutional on May 13, 2014 by a federal district court. The ruling was affirmed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on October 7, 2014 and went into effect on October 15, 2014.

Federal lawsuit

Four Idaho lesbian couples filed a lawsuit in United States District Court for the District of Idaho, U.S. district court in November 2013, challenging the state's ban on

. On May 13, 2014, U.S. Chief Magistrate Candy W. Dale ruled in ''

'' that Idaho's constitutional and statutory prohibitions against same-sex marriage were unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Fourteenth Amendment. She wrote: The state appealed the ruling, and on May 20 the

stayed enforcement of Dale's ruling pending the outcome of that appeal and ordered the case heard on an expedited basis. On October 7, 2014, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that the state's same-sex marriage ban was unconstitutional, finding that the ban violated the Fourteenth Amendment's right to equal protection. Idaho's county clerks prepared to process marriage licenses for same-sex couples the following day, October 8, until Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, in response to a petition from state officials, granted an emergency Stay of execution, stay of the Ninth Circuit's implementation of its decision. Don Moline and Clint Newlan were able to obtain a marriage license in Twin Falls, Idaho, Twin Falls before Justice Kennedy issued the temporary stay. On October 10, 2014, Justice Kennedy, after consulting with the other members of the

, denied the request for a stay and Vacated judgement, vacated the temporary stay. Latah County, Idaho, Latah County issued six marriage licenses to same-sex couples on October 10. That same day, the ''Latta'' plaintiffs asked the Ninth Circuit to lift the stay of the district court's order that it had imposed on May 20. The Ninth Circuit gave the parties until October 13 to reply. On October 13, the Ninth Circuit lifted its stay of the district court's order enjoining Idaho officials from enforcing the state's ban on same-sex marriage. The court's lifting of the stay went into effect on October 15, 2014. Rachael and Amber Beierle, plaintiffs in ''Latta'', were the first couple to obtain a marriage license at the Ada County, Idaho, Ada County Clerk's Office on October 15. Maryanne Jordan, the president of the Boise City Council, officiated at the marriage, and said "It's been such a long time coming." More than 50 marriage licenses were issued to same-sex couples that Friday, October 15 in at least 9 of List of counties in Idaho, Idaho's counties: Ada, Bannock County, Idaho, Bannock, Blaine County, Idaho, Blaine, Bonner County, Idaho, Bonner, Canyon County, Idaho, Canyon, Custer County, Idaho, Custer, Kootenai County, Idaho, Kootenai, Latah, and Twin Falls County, Idaho, Twin Falls. On October 10, Governor Butch Otter announced that he would no longer contest the ruling in ''Latta'' and state agencies would comply when the Ninth Circuit requires Idaho to provide marriage rights to same-sex couples. On October 14, he announced that his office planned to continue defending the state's ban on same-sex marriage. On October 21, he filed a petition for an ''en banc'' rehearing by the Ninth Circuit. The plaintiffs filed a response to the petition opposing an ''en banc'' rehearing on November 10, 2014. The Ninth Circuit denied the request for rehearing ''en banc'' on January 9, 2015.

Developments after legalization

A tax conformity bill, which would allow Idaho taxpayers to use federal adjusted gross income on their federal return as a starting point in filling out their Idaho tax form, was opposed by a group of Idaho Republican Party, Republican lawmakers in February 2022 who argued that the bill circumvented the Idaho Constitution by approving same-sex marriage. Representative Ron Nate said, "The problem with this is that [the bill] does not protect our constitution in Idaho as it was amended in 2006", as the federal government uses its definition of marriage to allow adjustments. Representative Gregory Chaney disagreed, "Not only are you [Representative Nate] not doing a better job of upholding the Idaho Constitution, you are doing an absolutely miserable job of upholding the United States Constitution. This is another example of where we'd get our rear end kicked, summarily, and then we'd pay the attorney['s] fees for whoever sued us." The bill passed 46–22 in the House.

Native American nations

Same-sex marriage is not recognized on the reservation of the Nez Perce#Current tribal lands, Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho. Its Tribal Code states that "'marriage' means the civil status, condition or relation of a man and woman considered united in law as husband and wife". The Law and Order Code of the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes states that "'marriage is a personal relation arising out of a civil contract, to which the consent of parties capable of making it is necessary", but generally refers to married spouses as "husband and wife". However, the code states that marriages entered into outside the tribe's jurisdiction are valid if they are valid in the jurisdiction where they were entered into. Many Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes have traditions of two-spirit individuals who were born male but wore women's clothing and performed everyday household work and artistic handiwork which were regarded as belonging to the feminine sphere. This two-spirit status allowed for marriages between two biological males or two biological females to be performed among some of these tribes. In Shoshone culture, two-spirit individuals are known as (), and performed women's activities but did not always wear women's clothing. Some of them married men, others married women, while others remained unmarried. It was considered inappropriate, however, for two to form a relationship. The Nez Perce call them (). They had sexual intercourse with cisgender men, but it is unclear if they were allowed to marry men. In the Coeur d'Alene language, they are known as (). Verne F. Ray reported in 1932 that he had met a Coeur d'Alene ''st̓ámya'' who was intersex and remained unmarried. The Kutenai, living in the present-day Idaho Panhandle, refer to two-spirit people who were born female but wore men's clothing and performed men's activities as (). One famous Kutenai two-spirit person was Kaúxuma Núpika, who, after leaving his White fur trader husband, returned to his people and adopted men's clothing and weapons, and took a wife. Kaúxuma was one of the "principal leaders" of the tribe and supernatural powers were attributed to him. He "is remembered among the Kutenai as a respected shamanic healer", a masculine occupation.

Demographics and marriage statistics

Data from the 2000 United States census, 2000 U.S. census showed that 1,873 same-sex couples were living in Idaho. By 2005, this had increased to 2,096 couples, likely attributed to same-sex couples' growing willingness to disclose their partnerships on government surveys. Same-sex couples lived in all counties of the state, except Oneida County, Idaho, Oneida, and constituted 0.6% of coupled households and 0.4% of all households in the state. Most couples lived in Ada County, Idaho, Ada, Canyon County, Idaho, Canyon and Kootenai County, Idaho, Kootenai counties, but the counties with the highest percentage of same-sex couples were Lewis County, Idaho, Lewis (0.90% of all county households) and Adams County, Idaho, Adams (0.77%). Same-sex partners in Idaho were on average younger than opposite-sex partners, and significantly more likely to be employed. However, the average and median household incomes of same-sex couples were lower than different-sex couples, and same-sex couples were also far less likely to own a home than opposite-sex partners. 16% of same-sex couples in Idaho were raising children under the age of 18, with an estimated 417 children living in households headed by same-sex couples in 2005.

Public opinion

A 2022 poll by the ''Idaho Statesman''/SurveyUSA found that 49% of Idaho voters believed same-sex marriage should remain legal if the Supreme Court overturned ''Obergefell'', while 37% opposed, and 14% were unsure. Support was highest among Democrats (78%) and independents (62%), but lowest among Republicans (34%). {, class="wikitable" , +style="font-size:100%" , Public opinion for same-sex marriage in Idaho , - ! style="width:190px;", Poll source ! style="width:200px;", Date(s)
administered ! class=small , Sample
size ! Margin of
error ! style="width:100px;", % support ! style="width:100px;", % opposition ! style="width:40px;", % no opinion , -
Idaho Statesman/Survey USA
, align=center, October 17–20, 2022 , align=center, 550 adults , align=center, ? , align=center, ''49%'' , align=center, 37% , align=center, 14% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
March 8–November 9, 2021
, align=center, ? , align=center, ? , align=center, 62% , align=center, 34% , align=center, 4% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
January 7–December 20, 2020
, align=center, 349 random telephone
interviewees , align=center, ? , align=center, ''48%'' , align=center, 40% , align=center, 12% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
April 5–December 23, 2017
, align=center, 461 random telephone
interviewees , align=center, ? , align=center, 56% , align=center, 32% , align=center, 12% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
May 18, 2016–January 10, 2017
, align=center, 609 random telephone
interviewees , align=center, ? , align=center, 54% , align=center, 36% , align=center, 9% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
April 29, 2015–January 7, 2016
, align=center, 471 random telephone
interviewees , align=center, ? , align=center, ''49%'' , align=center, 41% , align=center, 10% , -
Public Policy Polling
, align=center, October 9–12, 2014 , align=center, 522 likely voters , align=center, ± 4.3% , align=center, 38% , align=center, 57% , align=center, 5% , -
New York Times/CBS News/YouGov
, align=center, September 20–October 1, 2014 , align=center, 594 likely voters , align=center, ± 4.7% , align=center, 33% , align=center, 51% , align=center, 16% , -
Public Religion Research Institute
, align=center
April 2, 2014–January 4, 2015
, align=center, 309 , align=center, ? , align=center, 53% , align=center, 41% , align=center, 6% , -

References

External links

''Latta v. Otter''
United States District Court for the District of Idaho, May 13, 2014 {{Same-sex marriage in the United States 2014 in LGBT history LGBT in Idaho Same-sex marriage in the United States by state, Idaho 2014 in Idaho