1998 Alaska Measure 2

Measure 2
Alaska Marriage Amendment
Results
Choice
Votes %
Yes 152,965 68.11%
No 71,631 31.89%
Valid votes 224,596 98.87%
Invalid or blank votes 2,560 1.13%
Total votes 227,156 100.00%
Registered voters/turnout 453,332 49.54%

Source:[1]

Ballot Measure 2 of 1998 is a ballot measure, since ruled unconstitutional, that added an amendment to the Alaska Constitution that prohibited the recognition of same-sex marriage in Alaska. The Ballot measure was sparked by the lawsuit filed by Jay Brause and Gene Dugan, after the two men were denied a marriage license by the Alaska Bureau of Vital Statistics.[2] In Brause v. Bureau of Vital Statistics, 1998 WL 88743, the Alaska Superior Court ruled that the state needed compelling reason to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples and ordered a trial on the question.[2] In response, the Alaska Legislature immediately proposed and passed Resolution 42, which became what is now known as Ballot Measure 2.[2] Ballot Measure 2 passed via public referendum on November 3, 1998, with 68% of voters supporting and 32% opposing.[3] The Bause case was dismissed following the passage of the ballot measure.

The text of the adopted amendment, which is found at Article I, section 25 of the Alaska Constitution, states:[4]

To be valid or recognized in this State, a marriage may exist only between one man and one woman.

On October 12, 2014, U.S. federal Judge Timothy Burgess struck down the ban as a violation of the U.S. constitutional guarantee of due process and equal protection.[5] Burgess wrote, "Alaska’s denial of the benefits and dignity of marriage for them only perpetuates this discrimination without legitimate grounds.” Burgess also barred Alaska from refusing to acknowledge lawful same-sex marriages conducted in other states.[6]

Article I, § 25. of the Alaskan Constitution remains an unconstitutional constitutional amendment to this day. It can repealed by either a state constitutional convention or by a legislatively referred constitutional amendment that requires a two-thirds vote in both the Alaskan State Senate and the Alaskan House of Representatives and a majority vote in a referendum.

  1. ^ Election Summary Report State of Alaska 1998 General Election OFFICIAL RESULTS
  2. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference DukeLaw was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Robinson, B.A. (September 10, 2007). "Same-sex marriage in Alaska". Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. Retrieved April 8, 2009.
  4. ^ Alaska State Constitution Archived 2009-07-09 at the Wayback Machine Hosted on the Alaska Legislature's website. Accessed 30 November 2006.
  5. ^ Thiessen, Mark (October 12, 2014). "Federal Judge Strikes Down Alaska's Marriage Ban". ABC News. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  6. ^ Quinn, Steve (October 12, 2014). "Alaska ban on same-sex marriage ruled unconstitutional". Reuters. Retrieved October 13, 2014.