Texas Proposition 2 (2005)

Last updated

Proposition 2 was a referendum for a state constitutional amendment placed on the ballot by the Texas legislature and approved by the voters at the November 8, 2005 general election. The measure added a new provision to the Texas Constitution, Article 1, Section 32, which provides that "Marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman", and "This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage." Texas thus became the nineteenth US state to adopt constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. It was the most populous state to adopt a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage until California passed its ban in November 2008.

Contents

Full text

Article 1, Section 32 of the Texas Constitution, as amended, states: [1]

(a) Marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman.

(b) This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage.

The joint resolution proposing the amendment included additional language about rights that the ban on same-sex marriage was not meant to restrict: [2] [3]

This state recognizes that through the designation of guardians, the appointment of agents, and the use of private contracts, persons may adequately and properly appoint guardians and arrange rights relating to hospital visitation, property, and the entitlement to proceeds of life insurance policies without the existence of any legal status identical or similar to marriage.

Legislative approval

As provided in Article 17, Section 1 of the Texas Constitution, a proposed constitutional amendment is placed on the ballot only after the Texas legislature has proposed the amendment in a joint resolution of both the Texas senate and the Texas house of representatives. The joint resolution may originate in either chamber. The resolution must be adopted by a vote of at least two-thirds of the membership of each chamber. That means a minimum of 100 votes in the house and 21 votes in the senate.

On April 25, 2005, the house voted 101 in favor and 29 against the proposed amendment to ban same-sex marriage and civil unions, authored by Warren Chisum. [4] On May 21, 2005, the senate voted 21 in favor and 8 against the proposed amendment, and the ballot was set for November 8. [5]

Warren Chisum American politician

Warren Darrel Chisum is a conservative Republican former member of the Texas House of Representatives from the Panhandle city of Pampa, a community of some 20,000 people and the seat of Gray County, Texas. His service began in January 1989. A key lieutenant of former Speaker Thomas Russell "Tom" Craddick, Sr., of Midland, Chisum chaired the budget-writing House Appropriations Committee from 2007 to 2009.

Campaign

Campaign funding and spending

Proponents raised $122,000, almost all from two donors, and opponents $391,000 in support of their campaigns on the proposition. [6]

Proposition 2 attracted nearly $1.3 million in contributions. Seven committees opposing the proposition raised $782,410, almost 55 percent more than the nearly $506,000 collected by nine committees supporting it. Four committees against the measure raised $774,440, or almost 99 percent of the money raised to fight Proposition 2.

Ballot committeePositionTotal
Texans For Marriage Pro$339,880
Heritage Alliance PACPro$67,903
Focus on the Family Texas Marriage Amendment CommitteePro$51,188
Reagan Legacy Republican WomenPro$16,857
Texas Marriage AlliancePro$10,175
Vote Yes On Prop. TwoPro$5,500
Conservative Republicans of TexasPro$8,750
Conservative Republicans of Harris County Pro$5,433
Pro total$505,991
No Nonsense in NovemberCon$350,096
Vote Against the AmendmentCon$221,495
No Nonsense in 2006Con$125,157
Save Texas MarriageCon$77,694
Practice What You Preach Con$4,858
Tarrant County Stonewall Democrats Con$1,740
Texans UnitedCon$1,369
Con total$782,409
Total$1,288,400
ContributorStateIndustryPositionTotal
National Gay & Lesbian Task Force Washington, DCGay RightsCon$111,979
Bob J. Perry Houston, TexasHome BuildersPro$110,000
Tim Gill Denver, ColoradoGay RightsCon$100,000
James LeiningerSan Antonio, TexasPharmaceuticals & Health ProductsPro$100,000
Vaquillas LLCLaredo, TexasLivestockPro$100,000

Contributors across state lines

  • The National Gay & Lesbian Task Force gave nearly $122,000. All but $10,000 went to one committee in Texas.
  • Focus on the Family, a Colorado-based Christian organization led by Dr. James Dobson, gave almost $51,200 to a Texas committee it formed. Although the group's Kansas committee did not report any contributions, it did disclose expenditures of nearly $24,500, mostly on radio advertisements.
  • The Human Rights Campaign, a national organization promoting equality for homosexuals, contributed $34,900 to oppose the Texas measure. [7]

Focus on the Family is an American Christian conservative organization founded in 1977 in Southern California by psychologist James Dobson, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It is active in promoting socially conservative views on public policy. Focus on the Family is one of a number of evangelical parachurch organizations that rose to prominence in the 1980s. As of the 2015 tax filing year, Focus on the Family declared itself to be a church.

Human Rights Campaign advocacy group

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is the largest LGBT civil rights advocacy group and political lobbying organization in the United States. The organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for LGBT individuals, most notably advocating for marriage equality, anti-discrimination and hate crimes legislation, and HIV/AIDS advocacy. The organization has a number of legislative initiatives as well as supporting resources for LGBT individuals.

Supporters

Supporters for the Proposition 2 (2005) were approximately 76% of the Texas voting population. Supporters claimed that marriage is a union between a man and a woman and these unions creates a child. The poll show at the time of the voting was approximately 82% in a public poll. The Texas Governor Rick Perry said at the time of the voting said, "Like the vast majority of Texans, I believe that marriage represents a sacred union between a man and a woman." Although his signature was irrelevant legally, Governor Rick Perry held a signing ceremony at an evangelical church in Fort Worth. [8]

Opponents

Shortly before the election, a Presbyterian minister in Austin, Tom Hegar, argued that "a liberal activist judge" might interpret the wording of Subsection (b) to outlaw marriage itself and said, "Don't risk it; vote against it." [9]

Attorney General Greg Abbott, however, defended the language of the amendment. [10] Proponents claimed that criticism of the amendment's language was a "smokescreen" to confuse voters on the issue. [6]

Pre-decision opinion polls

Many predicted Proposition 2 would pass, including opponents of Proposition 2. Supporters of Proposition 2, however, believed Texans might not vote because they will be overconfident after seeing landslide victories for marriage bans in other states. [11]

Results

Proposition 2,
"Definition of Marriage Act" [14] [15]
ChoiceVotes%
Yes check.svg Yes1,723,78276.25
No536,91323.74
Total votes2,260,695100.00
Registered voters and turnout12,577,54517.97

Proposition 2 passed by a vote of more than three to one. With around 17.97 percent voter turnout, this was the highest participation in a constitutional amendment election since 1991, boasted by the same-sex marriage ban. Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, said the outcome was not unexpected: "When you put a fundamental right of a minority up for popular vote, it's almost impossible to win."

Percentage of vote in favor of Texas Proposition 2 by counties. For 90% - 100% 80% - 90% 70% - 80% 60% - 70% 50% - 60% Against 50% - 60% Texas Proposition 2 (November 2005).svg
Percentage of vote in favor of Texas Proposition 2 by counties.
For
  90% – 100%
  80% – 90%
  70% – 80%
  60% – 70%
  50% – 60%

Against
  50% – 60%

County breakdown

Of Texas's 254 counties, 253 of the 254 voted in favor of Proposition 2. Travis County, which includes Austin, was the only county to oppose the amendment. Houston and Dallas, the 6th and 8th cities with the largest LGBT populations in the US,[ citation needed ] voted for Proposition 2. The largest county in Texas, Harris, voted 72.5 percent to 25.5 percent for Proposition 2, with 17.5 percent voter turn out; however, two Montrose-area precincts of the county with substantial homosexual populations reported turnouts of around 35 percent. King County, the most Republican county in Texas,[ citation needed ] had the highest voter turnout of any county, with 54.16 percent, while Starr County, the most Democratic county in Texas,[ citation needed ] had the lowest voter turnout of any county, with 3.05 percent.

Of the counties containing the ten largest Texas cities, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth, El Paso, Arlington, Corpus Christi, Plano, and Laredo, only Austin voted against Proposition 2. Of the counties containing the ten largest Texas universities, Texas A&M University, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Houston, the University of North Texas, Texas State University–San Marcos, the University of Texas at Arlington, Texas Tech University, the University of Texas at San Antonio, the University of Texas at El Paso, and the University of Texas at Dallas, only the University of Texas at Austin voted against Proposition 2. Glen Maxey, the first openly gay member of the Texas house of representatives, visited the University of Texas campus after the polls closed, where he said students voted more than 4-to-1 against the amendment. [10] Students at the University of Houston, University of North Texas, and Texas State University voted 2-to-1 against the amendment. [10] However students at Texas A&M University and Baylor University voted 6-to-1 in favor of the amendment. [10]

Effects

In November 2009, Barbara Ann Radnofsky, a candidate for Texas attorney general, claimed that the amendment, because it was poorly drafted, outlawed all marriage in Texas. [17]

The Williams Institute projected that legalizing same-sex marriage in Texas would add $182.5 million to the state's economy in the first three years. [18]

On October 1, 2009, a state district court judge in the case of In Re Marriage of J.B. and H.B. ruled the amendment unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The lawsuit was filed by two men living in Dallas who had married in Massachusetts in 2006. They were seeking a divorce in Texas because Massachusetts permits only state residents to sue for divorce. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and Governor Rick Perry appealed to the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas. On August 31, 2010, the appellate court reversed the district court, ruling that the amendment does not violate the U.S. Constitution and that district courts in Texas do not have subject-matter jurisdiction to hear a same-sex divorce case. [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA) was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that would define marriage in the United States as a union of one man and one woman. The FMA would also prevent judicial extension of marriage rights to same-sex or other unmarried heterosexual couples. An amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires the support of two thirds of each house of Congress and ratification by three fourths of the states. The last Congressional vote on the proposed amendment occurred in the House of Representatives on July 18, 2006, when the motion failed 236 to 187, falling short of the 290 votes required for passage in that body. The Senate has only voted on cloture motions with regard to the proposed amendment, the last of which was on June 7, 2006, when the motion failed 49 to 48, falling short of the 60 votes required to allow the Senate to proceed to consideration of the proposal and the 67 votes required to send the proposed amendment to the states for ratification.

2000 California Proposition 22

Proposition 22 was a law enacted by California voters in March 2000 to prevent marriage between same-sex couples. In May 2008, it was struck down by the California Supreme Court as contrary to the state constitution.

Same-sex marriage is legal in the U.S. state of California, and first became so on June 16, 2008, when the state began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples as the result of the Supreme Court of California ruling in In re Marriage Cases, which found that barring same-sex couples from marriage violated the state's Constitution. The issuance of those licenses was halted during the period of November 5, 2008 through June 27, 2013 due to the passage of Proposition 8—a state constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriages. The granting of same-sex marriages recommenced following the United States Supreme Court decision in Hollingsworth v. Perry, which restored the effect of a federal district court ruling that overturned Proposition 8 as unconstitutional.

U.S. state constitutional amendments banning same-sex unions Wikimedia list article

Many U.S. states enacted amendments to their state constitutions which prevented the recognition of some or all types of same-sex unions, but all such amendments were struck down by the Supreme Court of the United States on June 26, 2015, in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges. Some amendments prevented a state from legalizing same-sex marriage, civil unions and domestic partnerships, while others banned only same-sex marriage. By May 2012, voters in 30 states had approved such amendments. While the actual text of these amendments still remains written into the various state constitutions, the Obergefell decision has rendered them unenforceable insofar as they prevented same-sex couples from marrying.

This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 2005.

2006 Arizona Proposition 107

Arizona Proposition 107 was a proposed same-sex marriage ban, put before voters by ballot initiative in the 2006 General Election. If passed, it would have prohibited the state of Arizona from recognizing same-sex marriages or civil unions. The state already had a statute defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman and prohibiting the recognition of same-sex marriages performed elsewhere.

The Tennessee Marriage Protection Amendment, also known as Tennessee Amendment 1 of 2006, is a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex unions. The referendum was approved by 81% of voters. It specified that only a marriage between a man and a woman could be legally recognized in the state of Tennessee. This prohibited same-sex marriages within the state, reinforcing previously existing statutes to the same effect until it was overturned by the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling in June 2015.

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.

Wisconsin Referendum 1

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.

Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in the U.S. state of 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.

2008 California Proposition 8 ballot proposition and state constitutional amendment passed in November 2008

Proposition 8, known informally as Prop 8, was a California ballot proposition and a state constitutional amendment passed in the November 2008 California state elections. The proposition was created by opponents of same-sex marriage in advance of the California Supreme Court's May 2008 appeal ruling, In re Marriage Cases, which followed the short-lived 2004 same-sex weddings controversy and found the previous ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. Proposition 8 was ultimately ruled unconstitutional by a federal court in 2010, although the court decision did not go into effect until June 26, 2013, following the conclusion of proponents' appeals.

2008 Arizona Proposition 102

Arizona Proposition 102 was an amendment to the constitution of the state of Arizona adopted by a ballot measure held in 2008. It added Article 30 of the Arizona Constitution, which says: "Only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state." The amendment added a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage to existing statutory bans in place since 1996. In October 2014, Article 30 of the Arizona Constitution was struck down as unconstitutional in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, and is no longer enforced by the state of Arizona, which now allows and recognizes same-sex marriages.

Florida Amendment 2 is an amendment made to the Constitution of Florida in 2008. It added Article I, Section 27 to the constitution, which defines marriage as a union only between one man and one woman, and thus bans the creation of similar unions, such as civil unions or same-sex marriage.

Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in the U.S. state of Arizona since October 17, 2014. The state had denied marriage rights to same-sex couples by statute since 1996 and by an amendment to its State Constitution approved by voters in 2008. Two lawsuits in federal court that challenged the state's policies ended with a decision that the ban was unconstitutional and the state did not appeal that ruling.

LGBT rights in Texas

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Texas face legal and social challenges and discrimination not faced by other people. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in the state. On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled bans on same-sex marriage to be unconstitutional in Obergefell v. Hodges. Texas has a hate crime statute that strengthens penalties for certain crimes motivated by a victim's sexual orientation, although it has never been invoked. Gender identity is not included in the hate crime law. There is no statewide law banning anti-LGBT discrimination. However, some localities in Texas have ordinances that provide a variety of legal protections and benefits to LGBT people.

Minnesota Amendment 1 proposed constitutional amendment

Minnesota Amendment 1 was a legislatively referred constitutional amendment proposed to ban marriage between same-sex couples in the state of Minnesota, that appeared on the ballot on November 6, 2012. It was rejected by 51.19% of voters.

The U.S. state of Texas issues marriage licenses to same-sex couples and recognizes those marriages when performed out-of-state. Prior to the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling striking down all state bans on same-sex marriage, Article 1, Section 32, of the Texas Constitution provided that "Marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman," and "This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage." Prohibition of same-sex marriage and civil unions also exist in Texas statute. This amendment and all related statutes have been ruled unconstitutional. Some cities and counties in the state recognize both same-sex and opposite-sex domestic partnerships.

Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in the U.S. state of Virginia since October 6, 2014, following a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States to refuse to hear an appeal of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in the case Bostic v. Schaefer. Marriages of same-sex couples subsequently began at 1:00 p.m. on October 6 after the Circuit Court issued its mandate, and since then Virginia has performed legal marriages of same-sex couples and recognized out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples.

Same-sex marriage in Arkansas is legal under the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, a landmark case in which same-sex marriage bans were struck down on June 26, 2015. Prior to that, same-sex marriage in Arkansas was briefly legal for a period beginning on May 9, 2014, as the result of a ruling by Sixth Judicial Circuit Judge Chris Piazza, striking down the state's constitutional and legislative ban on same-sex marriage as violating the Constitution of the United States. Approximately 541 same-sex couples received marriage licenses in several Arkansas counties before the Arkansas Supreme Court stayed his ruling pending appeal on May 16, 2014.

References

  1. ↑ Article 1, Section 32, Texas Constitution, retrieved January 17, 2013
  2. ↑ Brown, Lyle C.; et al. (2011–2012 edition). Practicing Texas Politics. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. p. 66.Check date values in: |year= (help)
  3. ↑ Texas Legislature Online: Bill: HJR 6, Legislative Session: 79(R), Enrolled, retrieved January 17, 2013
  4. ↑ "Ban on gay marriage heads to Texas Senate". Houston Chronicle. April 26, 2005. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Same-sex marriage ban going to voters Nov. 8". Houston Chronicle. May 22, 2005. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  6. 1 2 Hughes, Polly Ross (October 25, 2005). "Critics: Prop 2 threatens even traditional marriage". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  7. ↑ "BANNING SAME-SEX MARRIAGE" . Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  8. ↑ Blumenthal, Ralph (October 13, 2005). "In Texas, Marriage Is on Ballot". New York Times. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  9. ↑ Smith, Amy (October 28, 2005), "Group Says Prop. 2 Could Make Straight Marriage Illegal", The Austin Chronicle , retrieved January 19, 2013
  10. 1 2 3 4 Elliott, Janet (November 9, 2005). "Gay marriage ban approved". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Texas Same-sex Marriage Fight Heats Up". New Standard News. October 26, 2005. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Expert expects Texas' Prop. 2 to pass". UNT News. November 10, 2005. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Gay marriage vote crossed lines". Houston Chronicle. November 10, 2005. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
  14. 1 2 Office of the Secretary of State Archived 2014-01-09 at the Wayback Machine.
  15. ↑ "2005 Referendum Special Election Results – Texas"
  16. ↑ "2005 Referendum Special Election Data Graphs – Texas"
  17. ↑ Radnofsky, Barbara Ann (November 21, 2009). "Authors Of Texas Marriage Amendment: Who Barks The Loudest?". Huffington Post. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  18. ↑ "TX losing $60 million annually due to ban on same-sex marriage". Dallas Voice. November 30, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
  19. ↑ Appleton, Roy (August 31, 2010). "Dallas judge's ruling saying gay couple could divorce in Texas rejected on appeal". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.