The Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA),also referred to by proponents as the Marriage Protection Amendment,was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that would legally define marriage as a union of one man and one woman. The FMA would also prevent judicial extension of marriage rights to same-sex couples.
Russell Dana Feingold is an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States Senator from Wisconsin from 1993 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party,he was its nominee in the 2016 election for the same U.S. Senate seat he had previously occupied. From 1983 to 1993,he was a Wisconsin State Senator representing the 27th District.
Lawrence Edwin Craig is an American retired politician who served in the United States Senate representing Idaho from 1991 to 2009 and in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Idaho's 1st District from 1981 to 1991. A Republican,his 28 years in Congress rank as the second-longest in Idaho history,trailing only William Borah,who served over 32 years in the Senate.
The Tennessee General Assembly (TNGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is a part-time bicameral legislature consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Speaker of the Senate carries the additional title and office of Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee. In addition to passing a budget for state government plus other legislation,the General Assembly appoints three state officers specified by the state constitution. It is also the initiating body in any process to amend the state's constitution.
Mark William Neumann is an American businessman and politician. He represented Wisconsin's 1st congressional district for two terms,from 1995 to 1999. In 2010,Neumann unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for governor. In 2012,Neumann ran for the U.S. senate seat held by retiring Democratic senator Herb Kohl,placing third in the Republican primary.
David Johnson was the Iowa State Senator from the 1st District and served as assistant minority leader. A former Republican and currently independent,he served in the Iowa Senate from 2003 to 2019 and served in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1999 to 2003. He received his B.A. in History from Beloit College.
In response to court action in a number of states,the United States federal government and a number of state legislatures passed or attempted to pass legislation either prohibiting or allowing same-sex marriage or other types of same-sex unions.
Amanda Ragan is an Iowan State Senator from the 27th District. A member of the Democratic Party,she has served in the Iowa Senate since 2002. In 2016 Ragan was appointed Iowa Senate Democratic Whip. She has also served as the Executive Director of Meals on Wheels and of Community Kitchen of Northern Iowa.
Michael E. Gronstal is a former Iowa State Senator who represented the 8th district in the Iowa Senate. He served from 1985 to 2017 and was the majority leader and chairman of the Rules and Administration committee. He was also chairman of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC),the national organization to elect Democratic state legislators.
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. All counties in the state voted for the amendment except Dane County,which opposed it. The constitutional amendment created by Referendum 1 has been effectively nullified since June 26,2015,when the United States Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that state-level bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional.
Glenn S. Grothman is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative from Wisconsin's 6th congressional district. A member of the Republican Party,he was first elected to his seat in 2014.
Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in Wisconsin since October 6,2014,upon the resolution of a lawsuit challenging the state's ban on same-sex marriage. On October 6,the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of an appellate court ruling in Wolf v. Walker that had found Wisconsin's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. The appellate court issued its order prohibiting enforcement of the state's ban on same-sex marriage the next day and Wisconsin counties began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples immediately. Wisconsin had previously recognized domestic partnerships,which afforded limited legal rights to same-sex couples,from August 2009 until they were discontinued in April 2018.
Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in Iowa since a decision of the Iowa Supreme Court on April 3,2009. Marriage licenses became available to same-sex couples on April 27. This ruling was the result of a lawsuit filed in 2005 by six same-sex couples who had been denied marriage licenses in Polk County. In 2007,the Polk County District Court ruled in favor of the couples in Varnum v. Brien. Two couples were married on September 2,2007,before the ruling was stayed and appealed. On April 3,2009,the Iowa Supreme Court unanimously upheld the lower court's ruling,making Iowa the third U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage.
The 2008 United States elections were held on Tuesday,November 4,2008,during the war on terror and the onset of the Great Recession. It was considered a Democratic wave election,with Democratic Senator Barack Obama of Illinois defeating Senator John McCain of Arizona by a wide margin,and the Democrats bolstering their majorities in both chambers of Congress,thereby marking the first time since 1992 in which the Democrats won Congress and the presidency in one election.
Varnum v. Brien,763 N.W.2d 862,was an Iowa Supreme Court case in which the Court unanimously held that the state's limitation of marriage to opposite-sex couples violated the equal protection clause of the Iowa Constitution. The case had the effect of legally recognizing same-sex marriage in Iowa. In 2007,a lower court had granted summary judgment in favor of six same-sex couples who sued Timothy Brien,Polk County Recorder,for refusing to grant them marriage licenses.
The U.S. state of Colorado has provided limited recognition of same-sex unions in the form of designated beneficiary agreements since July 1,2009,and as civil unions since May 1,2013. Same-sex marriage was legalized on October 7,2014.
Warren E. Limmer is a Minnesota politician and member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota,he represents the 37th District,which includes portions of Hennepin County in the northwestern Twin Cities metropolitan area. Limmer previously served in the Minnesota House of Representatives,and in 1998 he sought the Republican endorsement for Minnesota Secretary of State,losing to Mary Kiffmeyer. He was the author of the 2012 Minnesota constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.
The Marriage Equality Act is a 2011 landmark New York State law that made same-sex marriage legal. The bill was introduced in the New York State Assembly by Assemblyman Daniel O'Donnell and in the New York State Senate by Senator Thomas Duane. It was signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on June 24,2011 and took effect on July 24,2011.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Virginia since October 6,2014,following the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court not to hear an appeal of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling in Bostic v. Schaefer. Same-sex marriages subsequently began at 1:00 p.m. on October 6 after the Fourth Circuit issued its mandate,and since then Virginia has performed legal marriages of same-sex couples and recognized out-of-state same-sex marriages. Previously,the state had passed a statute prohibiting same-sex marriage in 1975,and further restrictions were added in 1997 and 2004,which made "void and unenforceable" any arrangements between same-sex couples bestowing the "privileges or obligations of marriage". Voters approved an amendment to the Constitution of Virginia reinforcing the existing laws in 2006. On January 14,2014,a U.S. district court judge ruled in Bostic that Virginia's statutory and constitutional ban on the state recognition of same-sex marriages were unconstitutional,a decision upheld by the Fourth Circuit on July 28,2014.
The One Hundred Second Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 5,2015,through January 4,2017,in regular session,though it adjourned for legislative activity on May 18,2016.
