Amendment 1
April 5, 2005
Kansas Marriage Amendment
Results
Choice
 Votes  %
Yes 417,627 69.95%
No 179,432 30.05%
Total votes 597,059 100.00%

Kansas Proposed Amendment 1,[1] which was put before voters on April 5, 2005,[2] is an amendment to the Kansas Constitution that makes it unconstitutional for the state to recognize or perform same-sex marriages or civil unions. The referendum was approved by 70% of the voters.[3]

The amendment states:[4]

(a) The marriage contract is to be considered in law as a civil contract. Marriage shall be constituted by one man and one woman only. All other marriages are declared to be contrary to the public policy of this state and are void. (b) No relationship, other than a marriage, shall be recognized by the state as entitling the parties to the rights or incidents of marriage.

The Kansas Equality Coalition grew out of the organized but ultimately unsuccessful political opposition to the amendment. The KEC is a statewide group of people determined to end discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.

Impact of Supreme Court decisions

Following the Supreme Court decision in Schmidt v. Moriarty in 2014, 19 Kansas counties began issuing marriage licenses to same sex couples. Following the ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015, all Kansas counties were issuing same sex marriage certificates. The combination of the Supreme Court decisions, effectively, albeit unofficially, overturned the constitutional amendment.

References

  1. ↑ Rothschild, Scott (February 3, 2006). "Gay marriage ban in public's hands". Lawrence Journal-World. Archived from the original on May 23, 2006. Retrieved December 22, 2006.
  2. ↑ Hann, John (April 6, 2005). "Kansans vote to ban same-sex marriage". Boston.com. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  3. ↑ Election Statistics, Kansas Secretary of State. Retrieved on December 22, 2006.
  4. ↑ Kansas Constitution, Article Fifteen, section 16. Retrieved on October 9, 2014.
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