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2004 SESSION
HJ 187 Marriage; urging Congress to propose constitut. amdment. to protect fundamental institution thereof.
Introduced by: Robert F. McDonnell | all patrons ... notes | add to my profiles | history
SUMMARY AS PASSED:
Memorializing Congress; defense of marriage. Urges Congress to propose a constitutional amendment to protect the fundamental institution of marriage as a union between a man and woman and to declare that the uniting of persons of the same or opposite-sex in a civil union, domestic partnership, or other similar relationship as a substitution for such marriage shall not be valid or recognized in the United States. Recent court decisions, including the November 18, 2003, Massachusetts decision, have overturned many state laws that ban same-sex marriages. The Massachusetts ruling has been deemed the most far-reaching because it also defines marriage as the voluntary union of two persons as spouses, to the exclusion of all others. This resolution is identical to SJR 91.
SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:
Memorializing Congress; defense of marriage. Urges Congress to propose a constitutional amendment to protect the fundamental institution of marriage as a union between a man and woman and to declare that the uniting of persons of the same or opposite-sex in a civil union, domestic partnership, or other similar relationship as a substitution for such marriage shall not be valid or recognized in the United States. Recent court decisions, including the November 18, 2003, Massachusetts decision, have overturned many state laws that ban same-sex marriages. The Massachusetts ruling has been deemed the most far-reaching because it also defines marriage as the voluntary union of two persons as spouses, to the exclusion of all others.