2006 Idaho Amendment 2

Amendment 2

November 7, 2006

Idaho Marriage Definition Amendment
Results
Choice
Votes %
Yes 282,386 63.35%
No 163,384 36.65%
Valid votes 445,770 97.13%
Invalid or blank votes 13,157 2.87%
Total votes 458,927 100.00%
Registered voters/turnout 764,880 58.27%

Source: [1]

Idaho Amendment 2 of 2006 is an amendment to the Idaho Constitution that made it unconstitutional for the state to recognize or perform same-sex marriages or civil unions.

The text of the amendment states:

A marriage between a man and a woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this state.[2]

The amendment was passed 53–17 by the Idaho House of Representatives on February 6, 2006, and 26–9 by the Idaho Senate on February 15, 2006.[3][4] It was subsequently approved by 63% of voters in a referendum.[5]

On May 13, 2014, a United States magistrate judge struck down Amendment 2 as unconstitutional,[6] but enforcement of that ruling was stayed pending appeal. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that ruling on October 7, 2014, though the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay of the ruling, which was not lifted until October 15, 2014.

On June 26, 2015, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that state bans on same-sex marriage violated the 14th Amendment's guarantees of Equal Protection and Due Process, making same-sex marriage permanently legal in Idaho.

  1. ^ 2006 General Results statewide
  2. ^ Article III, Section 28 Archived 2010-08-02 at the Wayback Machine. Idaho Constitution. Idaho State Legislature. Accessed 06 January 2007.
  3. ^ HJR 2 - Marriage Amendment Ballot Question - Key Vote
  4. ^ HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 2 Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, Idaho Legislature
  5. ^ CNN.com Election 2006 - Ballot Measures Accessed 14 December 2006.
  6. ^ Pearce, Matthew (May 13, 2014). "Idaho same-sex marriage ban struck down by federal judge". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 13, 2014.