# Poll: Is your sate trying to amend its constitution to ban same sex marriage **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 29, 2004, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-is-your-sate-trying-to-amend-its-constitution-to-ban-same-sex-marriage/271942 "2004-10-29T23:47:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2004, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-is-your-sate-trying-to-amend-its-constitution-to-ban-same-sex-marriage/271942/21 "2004-10-30T17:29:35Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Ohio here. > > The most disgusting thing is the Conservative Republicans who are opposed to the bill for all the wrong reasons. Are there wrong reasons to oppose inequalty before the law? Aesiron, the last I heard Oregon’s was expected to pass, but I’m not on the ground there so I hope you’re right/ matt, Hawaii passed a constituional amendment after the state supreme court found that denying the rights of marriage to same-sex couples violated the state’s equal rights amendment. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2004, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-is-your-sate-trying-to-amend-its-constitution-to-ban-same-sex-marriage/271942/22 "2004-10-30T21:24:21Z")
How long ago did you read or hear about it? I admit I’ve not kept abreast of the situation and my information may be outdated although, thankfully, I’ve seen more “Vote No on Measure 36” banners than “Vote Yes…” in my small town which is heartening. I’ll have to check around and see if I can find any recent articles predicting the outcome. ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2004, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-is-your-sate-trying-to-amend-its-constitution-to-ban-same-sex-marriage/271942/23 "2004-10-31T01:54:18Z")
[Here is a link describing the issue in Michigan in detail.](http://crcmich.org/PUBLICAT/2000s/2004/prop2.html) ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2004, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-is-your-sate-trying-to-amend-its-constitution-to-ban-same-sex-marriage/271942/24 "2004-10-31T03:01:09Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > It did? I thought it just passed a law, not amended the constitution. Well I guess it’s a sort of. [Hawaii’s Constiution](http://www.hawaii.gov/lrb/con/) > [@](#): > > Section 23. The legislature shall have the power to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples. [Add HB 117 (1997) and election Nov 3, 1998] So our constitution doesn’t ban same sex marriage, it just ensures the right of the legislature to do so. Not too difficult to override but still a blight in my eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Lao](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Dr.Lao](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Lao)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2004, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-is-your-sate-trying-to-amend-its-constitution-to-ban-same-sex-marriage/271942/25 "2004-10-31T15:37:10Z")
None in Kansas this year, mostly because the Senate and the House couldn’t agree on whether they wanted to ban civil unions as well as gay marriage so each chamber defeated the other’s proposed amendment. So, neither made it to the ballot this election. Probably won’t be far off though. ---
**Author:** ![Merkwurdigliebe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Merkwurdigliebe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merkwurdigliebe)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2004, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-is-your-sate-trying-to-amend-its-constitution-to-ban-same-sex-marriage/271942/26 "2004-10-31T18:16:52Z")
hmm… I wonder how Mississippi is going to go? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Girl)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-is-your-sate-trying-to-amend-its-constitution-to-ban-same-sex-marriage/271942/27 "2004-11-01T04:52:33Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Ohio here. > > The most disgusting thing is the Conservative Republicans who are opposed to the bill for all the wrong reasons. They don’t give a damn about our rights or equality or fairness. All they care about is the tax revenue we generate. With friends like these . . . **panache45** , you already know I’m with you. You might remember that I had been lamenting seeing two YES on 1 signs in my neighborhood (just a few doors down from each other). The good news is I’m not the only one who was disgusted everytime I drove by. Tonight I just saw a NO on 1 sign just a few doors down from theirs. YAY! My faith in humanity is restored! 🙂 At least for today. ☹ > [@Otto](#): > > Are there wrong reasons to oppose inequalty before the law? Well, I know what panache45 is getting at here. They’re saying it will have a negative impact on Ohio attracting more liberal companies to operate here. They also say it will will be bad for seniors and other (?) cohabitators. But they are callously ignoring the negative impact on the one group that all this fuss is about to begin with. I can understand why **panache45** feels slighted. It’s obvious they don’t give a rat’s ass about him and were there no other consequences of the amendment, wouldn’t blink an eye over denying his rights. Am I right? ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Girl)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-is-your-sate-trying-to-amend-its-constitution-to-ban-same-sex-marriage/271942/28 "2004-11-01T04:54:47Z")
BTW, by “more liberal” I mean less restrictive in their policies toward homosexuals. Or something like that. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Gr8Kat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gr8kat/32/18668_2.png) [@Gr8Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gr8Kat)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-is-your-sate-trying-to-amend-its-constitution-to-ban-same-sex-marriage/271942/29 "2004-11-01T06:22:42Z")
Another Oregonian checking in. Googling “Oregon measure 36 expected to pass” finds many articles stating all the anti-gay marriage initiatives on ballots this fall are expected to pass, but some think it is possible it might fail in Oregon, or at least is more likely to fail in Oregon than most other states. Googling “Oregon measure 36 expected to fail” comes up with doodly-squat. I personally will be stunned if it passes because we defeated every anti-gay ballot measure the Oregon Citizens Alliance threw at us in the 90’s. Why the homophobia now? I’ll be terribly disheartened if it passes. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-is-your-sate-trying-to-amend-its-constitution-to-ban-same-sex-marriage/271942/30 "2004-11-01T06:49:02Z")
In Australia, marriage laws are constitutionally the preserve of the Commonwealth government, rather than the state governments. The \*Marriage Act \* (Cth) 1961 was amended earlier this year to reinforce the traditional common law position. Section 5(1) defines marriage as “the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life”. Section 88EA prohibits the recognition of same-sex marriages performed overseas in countries where they might be legal: “A union solemnised in a foreign country between: (a) a man and another man; or (b) a woman and another woman; must not be recognised as a marriage in Australia”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-is-your-sate-trying-to-amend-its-constitution-to-ban-same-sex-marriage/271942.md?page=1)