Wisconsin Referendum 1 of 2006 was a referendum on an amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution that would invalidate same-sex marriages or any substantially similar legal status. The referendum was approved by 59% of voters during the general elections in November 2006.[1] All counties in the state voted for the amendment except Dane County (home of the state capital, Madison), which opposed it.
Amendment [edit]
The text of the adopted amendment, which became Article XIII, Section 13 of the state constitution, reads:
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Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized in this state.[2] |
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As required by the constitution, the amendment was approved by both houses of the legislature, in two consecutive sessions. The legislative history of the amendment is as follows:
- December 6, 2005: Approved by the State Senate a second time, by a vote of 19-14.[4]
- February 28, 2006: Approved by the State Assembly a second time.
- November 7, 2006: Approved by referendum, by a margin of 59.4%-40.6%.[5]
Legal challenge [edit]
In April 2009 the Wisconsin Supreme Court was asked in McConkey v. Van Hollen to rule on whether the 2006 Referendum 1 was constitutional. William McConkey, a political science instructor, claimed that the measure violated the state's constitution because it proposed more than one question in a single ballot proposal, which is impermissible under Wisconsin law.[6][7][8] On June 30, 2010, the Court ruled that the amendment is constitutional.[9][10]
References [edit]
- ^ CNN.com Election 2006 - Ballot Measures Accessed 14 December 2006.
- ^ "DOMAwatch.org - Wisconsin" Alliance Defense Fund. 2006. Accessed 06 January 2007.
- ^ Assembly Joint Resolution 66, Journal of the Wisconsin Senate, March 11, 2004, p. 717. The final vote was taken shortly after midnight on March 12.
- ^ Senate Joint Resolution 53, Journal of the Wisconsin Senate, Dec. 6, 2005, p. 488.
- ^ Canvass Summary, Wisconsin State Elections Board, Fall General Election, Nov. 7, 2006.
- ^ Wisconsin amendment supreme court
- ^ Christopher Magnum, Wis. "Supreme Court Hears Gay Marriage Case", Advocate.com, Nov. 3, 2009.
- ^ Patrick Marley, "State Supreme Court hears arguments on gay marriage amendment", The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Nov. 3, 2009.
- ^ Wisconsin Supreme Court Upholds Gay Marriage Ban
- ^ Wisconsin Supreme Court upholds gay marriage ban
External links [edit]
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U.S. same-sex unions ballot measures
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| 1990s |
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| 2000s |
- California Proposition 22 (2000, Ban)
- Nebraska Initiative 416 (2000, Ban)
- Nevada Question 2 (2002, Ban)
- Arkansas Constitutional Amendment 3 (2004, Ban)
- Georgia Constitutional Amendment 1 (2004, Ban)
- Kentucky Constitutional Amendment 1 (2004, Ban)
- Louisiana Constitutional Amendment 1 (2004, Ban)
- Michigan Proposal 04-2 (2004, Ban)
- Mississippi Amendment 1 (2004, Ban)
- Missouri Constitutional Amendment 2 (2004, Ban)
- Montana Initiative 96 (2004, Ban)
- North Dakota Constitutional Measure 1 (2004, Ban)
- Ohio Issue 1 (2004, Ban)
- Oklahoma Question 711 (2004, Ban)
- Utah Constitutional Amendment 3 (2004, Ban)
- Kansas Amendment 1 (2005)
- Texas Proposition 2 (2005, Ban)
- Alabama Amendment 774 (2006)
- Arizona Proposition 107 (2006, Constitutional ban defeated)
- Colorado Amendment 43 (2006, Ban)
- Idaho Amendment 2 (2006)
- South Carolina Amendment 1 (2006, Ban)
- South Dakota Amendment C (2006)
- Tennessee Amendment 1 (2006, Ban)
- Marshall-Newman Amendment (Virginia) (2006, Ban)
- Wisconsin Referendum 1 (2006, Ban)
- Arizona Proposition 102 (2008, Ban)
- California Proposition 8 (2008, Ban)
- Florida Amendment 2 (2008, Ban)
- Maine Question 1 (2009, Legalizing legislation defeated)
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| 2010s |
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| Same-sex marriage legalized: |
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Same-sex marriage recognized,
but not performed: |
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| Civil union or domestic partnership legal: |
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| Same-sex marriage prohibited by statute: |
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Same-sex marriage prohibited
by constitutional amendment: |
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All types of same-sex unions prohibited
by constitutional amendment: |
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Recognition of same-sex unions undefined
by statute or constitutional amendment:
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Notes
† California's laws on marriage are complicated: All out-of-state same-sex marriages are given the benefits of marriage under California law, although only those performed before November 5, 2008, are granted the designation "marriage". The constitutional ban on same-sex marriage remains in limbo following a federal case finding the ban unconstitutional, which is currently stayed pending a Supreme Court decision.
* 64 same-sex marriages were issued in 2004: one of these marriages was recognized as valid for the purposes of divorce in 2010. However this was a narrow ruling, and the recognition of the marriages is unknown elsewhere.
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