Contents

2004 Georgia Amendment 1

Amendment 1

November 2, 2004
Definition of Marriage Amendment
Results
Choice Votes % Yes 2,454,930 76.15% No 768,716 23.85% Valid votes 3,223,646 97.63% Invalid or blank votes 78,229 2.37% Total votes 3,301,875 100.00% Registered voters/turnout 4,248,837 75.87%
Yes   90%–100%   80%–90%   70%–80%   60%–70%   50%–60%
Sources: [1][2][3]

Georgia Constitutional Amendment 1^[4] of 2004, is an amendment to the Georgia Constitution that previously made it unconstitutional for the state to recognize or perform same-sex marriagesorcivil unions. The referendum was approved by 76% of the voters.^[5]

The text of the amendment states:

(a) This state shall recognize as marriage only the union of man and woman. Marriages between persons of the same sex are prohibited in this state.

(b) No union between persons of the same sex shall be recognized by this state as entitled to the benefits of marriage. This state shall not give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other state or jurisdiction respecting a relationship between persons of the same sex that is treated as a marriage under the laws of such other state or jurisdiction. The courts of this state shall have no jurisdiction to grant a divorce or separate maintenance with respect to any such relationship or otherwise to consider or rule on any of the parties' respective rights arising as a result of or in connection with such relationship.^[6]

The amendment was challenged in court. On May 16, 2006, a lower court in Georgia struck down the amendment,^[7] but on July 7, 2006, the Supreme Court of Georgia overturned the lower court thus leaving the amendment as part of the Georgia Constitution.^[8]

As a result of the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges Amendment 1 was declared unconstitutional on June 26, 2015, legalizing same-sex marriage in Georgia.^[9]

Results[edit]

Amendment 1^[10]

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	2,454,930	76.25
No	768,716	23.85
Total votes	3,223,646	100.00

See also[edit]

• LGBT rights in Georgia (U.S. state)

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• The Money Behind the 2004 Marriage Amendments -- National Institute on Money in State Politics Archived 2012-03-28 at the Wayback Machine