2008 Woodie Awards
La. votes on gay marriage
Sarah Hargrove
Current Events Editor
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On Saturday, Sept. 18, Louisiana voted to approve a constitutional ban on gay marriage in the state.
The race was close only in New Orleans, home to a strong gay community; elsewhere in the state, the amendment passed easily with an overwhelming majority.
The amendment bans both marriages and civil unions for same-sex couples, making it stricter than similar gay-marriage bans in states like Missouri and Nevada. Amendment No. 1 calls for Louisiana "to require that marriage in the state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman."
Although the state already had a law defining marriage as between a man and a woman, supporters of Amendment No. 1 wanted to see their beliefs protected constitutionally. The amendment also states that the "legal incidents of marriage shall be conferred only upon such union" and sets out "to prohibit the validation or recognition of the legal status of any union of unmarried individuals."
This wording effectively puts a constitutional ban on any legal recognition of unions between same-sex couples. Furthermore, the amendment prohibits "the recognition of a marriage contracted in another jurisdiction which is not the union of one man and one woman." Such a conservative piece of legislature aims to deny same-sex couples any sort of legal recognition in the state of Louisiana.
Controversy surrounds the amendment's approval. At least 59 precincts suffered a delay of several hours in the voting procedure due to the late delivery of voting machines.
Many voters had to wait until noon, four hours after polls opened, to cast their vote. Lawyers have also pointed out that the amendment may not be legal; amendments are supposed to address one issue at a time, but this one bans both marriages and civil unions. Finally, the lines banning civil unions could potentially interfere with private contract rights. Organizations such as the Forum for Freedom are already planning to take up the matter in court.
Louisiana is only the first of 11 states with similar anti gay-marriage amendments on the ballot in upcoming months. Other states include Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon and Utah. Petitions for such an amendment to be introduced in Ohio are still being verified.