2024 Colorado Amendment J is a proposed amendment to the Colorado Constitution that will appear on the general election ballot on November 5, 2024, in Colorado. If passed, the amendment would repeal Amendment 43, a 2006 constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in the Constitution of Colorado. While Constitutional ballot measures typically require a 55% vote to pass in Colorado, Amendment J will only need a simple majority. This is because the 55% vote threshold only applies to proposed amendments adding to the Constitution, not those which repeal provisions from it.[2]
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Repealing the Definition of Marriage in the Constitution | ||||||||||||||||
| as of 5:51:51 P.M., November 15, 2024 MST | ||||||||||||||||
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| Source: Colorado Secretary of State[1] | ||||||||||||||||
Background
editIn 2006, Colorado voters passed Amendment 43 which defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman within the State of Colorado. Same-sex marriage was illegal in Colorado prior to this, with the ballot measure simply moving the state's ban on same-sex marriage from state statue to the state Constitution. Following a 2014 decision by the Colorado Supreme Court, Attorney General John Suthers declared that County Clerks within the state could not deny couples marriage licenses on the basis of sex.[3] On June 26, 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled in the case Obergefell v. Hodges which struck down same-sex marriage bans nationwide. This made the text of Amendment 43 legally unenforceable. Following the 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization however, some groups in favor of same-sex marriage pushed to repeal Amendment 43 out of concern that the Obergefell v. Hodges decision could be overturned by the US Supreme Court as well.[4]
On April 19, 2024, Senator Joann Ginal and Representatives Alex Valdez and Brianna Titone introduced Senate Concurrent Resolution 24–003 to the Colorado General Assembly to refer the issue of the Constitutionality same-sex marriage to voters. The bill passed the Colorado Senate on a vote of 29 in favor to 5 opposed. All 23 Senate Democrats as well as 6 Republicans voted in favor, with all 5 no votes coming from Republicans. The bill then passed the Colorado House of Representatives with all Democrats voting in favor other than Regina English and all Republicans voting against other than Matt Soper and Rick Taggart.[5] The bill was signed into law by Governor Jared Polis on May 8, 2024, resulting in the amendment appearing on the November 2024 ballot. Should the amendment be passed by voters, it will remove language from the Colorado Constitution stating that marriage is exclusively between a man and a woman.[6]
| Political affiliation | Voted for | Voted against | Abstained/Not present |
|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 23
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- | - |
| Republican Party | |||
| Total | 29 | 5 | 1 |
Contents
editThe amendment appeared on the ballot as follows:[7]
Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution removing the ban on same-sex marriage?
Campaigns
editSupport
editThe campaign in favor of Amendment J was led by the organization Freedom to Marry Colorado.[8] Additionally, the official state voter guide offers the argument that marriage is a basic right for all Coloradans and the Colorado Constitution should protect that right regardless of one's sexuality, particularly if the right to same-sex marriage is overturned by the US Supreme Court.
- Federal officials
- Michael Bennet, US Senator
- Diana DeGette, US Representative
- Joe Neguse, US Representative
- Jason Crow, US Representative
- Brittany Pettersen, US Representative
- Yadira Caraveo, US Representative
- State officials
- State senators
- State representatives
- Judy Amabile
- Jennifer Bacon
- Shannon Bird
- Kyle Brown
- Andrew Boesenecker
- Chad Clifford
- Lindsey Daugherty
- Monica Duran
- Meg Froelich
- Lorena Garcia
- Leslie Herod
- Junie Joseph
- Chris Kennedy
- Cathy Kipp
- Sheila Lieder
- Mandy Lindsay
- William Lindstedt
- Meghan Lukens
- Javier Mabrey
- Julie McCluskie
- Karen McCormick
- Emily Sirota
- Marc Snyder
- Tammy Story
- Brianna Titone
- Alex Valdez
- Stephanie Vigil
- Mike Weissman
- Jenny Willford
- Organizations
- ACLU Colorado
- ADL Mountain States
- The Center on Colfax
- Colorado AFL-CIO
- Colorado Education Association
- Colorado Democratic Party
- Colorado Working Families Party
- League of Women Voters of Colorado
- PFLAG Colorado Springs, Denver, Fort Collins, and Greeley
- Planned Parenthood Rocky Mountains
- SEIU Local 105
Opposition
editThere is no major organized opposition to Amendment J. However, the official state voter guide offers as an argument that marriage should be between one man and one woman and if Obergefell v. Hodges is overturned, the Colorado Constitution should reflect that.
Results
editOn November 5, 2024, at 7:00 PM MT, polls in Colorado closed. Amendment J requires a simple majority to pass. On the same night, at 8:50 PM MT, the Associated Press projected, with 63.6% in favor, the passage of Proposition 3.[12]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "Colorado 2024 General Election Results". Clarity Elections. 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
- ^ Megan Verlee and Bente Birkeland (September 17, 2024). "Here are the 14 questions on Colorado's ballot this November". Colorado Public Radio. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
- ^ Alman, Ashley (October 7, 2014). "Colorado AG: County Clerks Must Issue Gay Marriage Licenses". HuffPost. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
- ^ Albaladejo, Angelika (June 17, 2024). "Colorado's constitution bans same-sex marriage. But voters may soon change that". KMGH-TV. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
- ^ "SCR24-003 Protecting the Freedom to Marry". Colorado General Assembly. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
- ^ Toomer, Lindsey (May 8, 2024). "Repeal of state Constitution's same-sex marriage ban heads to voters with Gov. Polis' signature". Colorado Newsline. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
- ^ "2024 State Ballot Information Booklet" (PDF). Colorado General Assembly. September 11, 2024. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
- ^ Jena Griswold. "Amendments and Propositions on the 2024 Ballot". Colorado Secretary of State. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
- ^ "Support for Freedom to Marry Colorado is growing every day". Freedom to Marry Colorado. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
- ^ Maulbetsch, Erik (September 13, 2024). "Colorado Republican Party Briefly Supported and is Now Neutral on Protecting Gay Marriage". Colorado Times Recorder. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
- ^ Birkeland, Bente (October 12, 2024). "Amendment J: Remove the state's constitutional same-sex marriage ban, explained". CPR News. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
- ^ "Amendment J Results: Colorado Same-Sex Marriage Ban". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved 2024-11-12.