U.S. State Constitutional Amendments Banning Same-sex Unions

U.S. State Constitutional Amendments Banning Same-sex Unions

Many U.S. states have amendments to their state constitutions which prevent the recognition of some or all types of same-sex unions. Some prevent a state from legalizing same-sex marriage, civil unions and domestic partnerships, while others ban only same-sex marriage. Because these amendments are enacted at the constitutional level, they can only be changed by modifying the state constitution to which they were added. As of May 2012, voters in 30 states had approved such amendments; this total does not include Hawaii's amendment.

Conservative activists who favor such amendments may refer to them as "defense of marriage amendments" or "marriage protection amendments." Titles vary among states; for example, Alabama's amendment is called the "Sanctity of Marriage Amendment". These state amendments are different from the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment, which would ban same-sex marriage in every U.S. state, and the Defense of Marriage Act, which prevents the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages.

On July 31, 2012, Perry v. Brown, a Ninth Circuit case which held that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional, was appealed to the Supreme Court. There have also been several cases appealed to the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, such as Pedersen v. Office of Personnel Management. ] The Supreme Court will decide if they want to hear the cases on September 26, 2012.