Marriage News from Around the Country

Compiled by Dawn Wolfe

Arizona: The state already has a law prohibiting equal marriage rights, but some activists are pushing for a state constitutional amendment to provide a safeguard against any court rulings. A spokesperson for the Center for Arizona Policy, a lobbying group, said she and others will ask the state Legislature to place a referendum on the November 2006 ballot. The group also plans to launch a petition drive to place an initiative on the ballot. They would need at least 183,917 valid signatures. Arizona lawmakers failed during the 2004 legislative session to approve a resolution urging Congress to amend the U.S. Constitution to outlaw marriages for same-sex couples.
Florida: The Florida Baptist Convention, holding its 150th annual meeting, unanimously approved a resolution calling for state constitutional ban on equal marriage rights Nov. 9. Gov. Jeb Bush said there is no need for a constitutional amendment here because the federal Defense of Marriage Act already addresses the issue. A series of lawsuits filed across the state this year challenges the constitutionality of both the state law and the federal law upon which it was modeled.
Georgia: Gay-rights supporters filed a lawsuit Nov. 9 seeking to throw out a ban on equal marriage rights voted into Georgia’s constitution Nov. 2. They say the amendment contained misleading language, asking voters only if they wanted to define marriage as between a man and a woman, not whether they wanted to ban civil unions. The measure passed 3-to-1, winning with huge margins among almost every demographic.
Idaho: Three leaders of the state’s conservative movement launched their campaign Nov. 11 to put a constitutional ban on equal marriage rights – and possibly any legalized civil union or partnership – before voters in 2006.
North Carolina: The Charlottesville City Council is expected to urge the General Assembly to repeal the state ban on civil unions between same-sex couples. Council voted on a resolution Nov. 15 asking legislators to reverse the ban, which they approved earlier this year.
Texas: Calling it a biblical issue, a state lawmaker on Nov. 8 proposed an amendment to the Texas Constitution that would ban the state from recognizing equal marriage rights. Texas already has a law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Changing the state constitution would require the approval of two-thirds of each chamber of the Legislature, as well as a ballot vote by Texans.