Kentucky Constitutional Amendment 1
[2004 Election Night Tally Results](_blank)
, Kentucky State Board of Elections. Accessed 18 December 2006. of 2004, is an amendment to the
Kentucky Constitution The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the document that governs the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It was first adopted in 1792 and has since been rewritten three times and amended many more. The later versions were adopted in 1799, 1850, ...
that
made it unconstitutional for the state to recognize or perform
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 ...
s or
civil union
A civil union (also known as a civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage ...
s. The referendum was approved by 75% of the voters.
[CNN.com Election 2004 - Ballot Measures](_blank)
Accessed 30 November 2006.
The text of the amendment states:
''Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Kentucky. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized.''
, Kentucky Legislature. Accessed 18 December 2006.
Legal Challenges
On September 10, 2013, the
Kentucky Equality Federation
Kentucky Equality Federation is an umbrella organization for LGBT rights in the United States, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender civil rights in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, consisting of Federation for Kentucky Equality, Inc., Kentucky Equ ...
sued the
Commonwealth of Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia t ...
in Franklin Circuit Court claiming Kentucky's 2004 Constitutional Amendment banning
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 ...
violated sections of the commonwealth's constitution. Case # 13-CI-1074 was assigned by the Franklin County Court Clerk (the location of the
Kentucky State Capitol
The Kentucky State Capitol is located in Frankfort and is the house of the three branches (executive, legislative, judicial) of the state government of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic ...
). The lawsuit was conceived by President
Jordan Palmer
Jordan William Palmer (born May 30, 1984) is a former American football quarterback and the current director of quarterback development for the XFL. He was selected by the Washington Redskins in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He playe ...
, written and signed by Vice President of Legal Jillian Hall, Esq. On April 16, 2015, the case was decided in favor of the plaintiff by Franklin County Circuit Court Judge Thomas D. Wingate.
This provision also became void in 2015 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in ''
Obergefell v. Hodges
''Obergefell v. Hodges'', ( ), is a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark LGBT rights in the United States, LGBT rights case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Fundamental rights in the U ...
'' that the
fundamental right
Fundamental rights are a group of rights that have been recognized by a high degree of protection from encroachment. These rights are specifically identified in a constitution, or have been found under due process
Due process of law is applicat ...
to
marry
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
is guaranteed to
same-sex couples
A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil unions may exist in countries w ...
by both the
Due Process Clause
In United States constitutional law, a Due Process Clause is found in both the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, which prohibits arbitrary deprivation of "life, liberty, or property" by the government except as ...
and the
Equal Protection Clause of the
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Results
See also
*
LGBT rights in Kentucky
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is ...
*
Same-sex marriage in Kentucky
Same-sex marriage in Kentucky has been legal since the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in '' Obergefell v. Hodges'' on June 26, 2015. The decision, which struck down Kentucky's statutory and constitutional bans on same-sex marriages, was handed down ...
References
External links
The Money Behind the 2004 Marriage Amendments -- National Institute on Money in State Politics
U.S. state constitutional amendments banning same-sex unions
2004 in American law
2004 in LGBT history
LGBT in Kentucky
Same-sex marriage ballot measures in the United States
2004 Kentucky elections
2004 ballot measures
Kentucky ballot measures
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