1998 Hawaii Amendment 2

Referendum on same-sex marriage February 2026 September 2023 Constitutional Amendment 2 Hawaii Marriage Amendment 285,384 117,827 412,520 601,404 67.19 File:1998 Hawaii Amendment 2 results map by county.svg County results Yes #47729E 70–80% 1px #AAAAAA solid #7D9CBB 60–70% 1px #AAAAAA solid No vote #808080 1px #AAAAAA solid Source:General/OHA - STATE OF HAWAII - Statewide November 03, 1998 ** Summary Report ** Constitutional Amendment 2 of 1998 amended the Constitution of Hawaii, granting the state legislature the power to prevent same-sex marriage from being conducted or recognized in Hawaii. Amendment 2 was the first constitutional amendment adopted in the United States that specifically targeted same-sex partnerships.Baehr v. Miike Lambda Legal https://www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/cases/baehr-v-miike live https://web.archive.org/web/20120203170420/https://www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/cases/baehr-v-miike 3 February 2012 28 April 2022 Background In 1993, the Hawaii State Supreme Court ruled in Baehr v. Lewin, P 852 2 44 Haw. 1993, that refusing to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples was discriminatory under that state's constitution. However, the court did not immediately order the state to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples; rather, it remanded the case to the trial court and ordered the state to justify its position. After the trial court judge rejected the state's justifications for limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples in 1996 (but stayed his ruling to allow the state to appeal to the Supreme Court again), the Hawaii State Legislature passed a proposed constitutional amendment during the 1997 session that would overrule the Supreme Court's 1993 ruling and allow the Legislature to ban same-sex marriage. This constitutional amendment appeared on the 1998 general election ballot as Constitutional Amendment 2.Wilson Christie Same-sex marriage issue has endured a long fight in Hawaii 24 January 2010 The Honolulu Advertiser http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2010/Jan/24/ln/hawaii1240370.html dead https://web.archive.org/web/20101214195030/http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2010/Jan/24/ln/hawaii1240370.html 14 December 2010 29 April 2022 Content The question that appeared on the ballot for voters was:Gima Craig Same-sex vote won't answer all questions 7 October 1998 Honolulu Star-Bulletin http://archives.starbulletin.com/98/10/07/news/story1.html live https://web.archive.org/web/20100807215812/http://archives.starbulletin.com/98/10/07/news/story1.html 7 August 2010 29 April 2022 Shall the Constitution of the state of Hawaii be amended to specify that the Legislature shall have the power to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples? Amendment 2 differed from amendments that followed in other states in that it did not write a ban on same-sex marriage into the state's constitution; rather, it allowed the state legislature to enact such a ban.Niesse Mark 23 February 2009 Hawaii is latest civil unions battleground https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/873547 live Taiwan News Associated Press https://web.archive.org/web/20220429190745/https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/873547 29 April 2022 29 April 2022 On November 3, 1998, Hawaii voters approved the amendment by a vote of 69.2–28.6%,https://files.hawaii.gov/elections/files/results/1998/general/histatewide.pdf General Election 1998 3 November 1998 Hawaii Office of Elections 4 29 April 2022 live https://web.archive.org/web/20060602191431/http://hawaii.gov/elections/results/1998/general/98swgen.htm 2 June 2006 and the state legislature exercised its power to ban same-sex marriage. The language added by the amendment reads:Article I: Bill of Rights Hawaii Legislative Reference Bureau The Constitution of the State of Hawaii http://hawaii.gov/lrb/con/conart1.html dead https://web.archive.org/web/20060221002341/http://hawaii.gov/lrb/con/conart1.html 21 February 2006 29 April 2022 The legislature shall have the power to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples. Article I, section 23 The Constitution of the State of Hawaii Later developments On October 14, 2013, Hawaii Attorney General David M. Louie stated in a formal legal opinion that Amendment 2 does not prevent the state legislature from legalizing same-sex marriage,Haw. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 13-1 14 October 2013 http://ag.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/AG-Opinion-13-1.pdf live https://web.archive.org/web/20131112173620/http://ag.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/AG-Opinion-13-1.pdf 12 November 2013 29 April 2022 which it did in November 2013 with the Hawaii Marriage Equality Act. On November 5, 2024, Hawaii held a referendum to remove the amendment from the state constitution.Hawaii Remove Legislature Authority to Limit Marriage to Opposite-Sex Couples Amendment (2024) https://ballotpedia.org/Hawaii_Remove_Legislature_Authority_to_Limit_Marriage_to_Opposite-Sex_Couples_Amendment_(2024) 2024-05-05 Ballotpedia en The measure passed by a vote of 55.9%-44.1%Hawai'i Office of Elections https://elections.hawaii.gov/wp-content/results/histatewide.pdf November 12, 2024 November 23, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201123220221/https://elections.hawaii.gov/wp-content/results/histatewide.pdf dead Results Constitutional amendment 285384 403211 117827 601404 9309 Hawaii Office of Elections November 4, 1998 1998 General Election Statewide Summary Report http://hawaii.gov/elections/results/1998/general/98swgen.htm 29 April 2022 2 June 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20060602191431/http://hawaii.gov/elections/results/1998/general/98swgen.htm bot: unknown By county County Yes No Margin Total votes # % # % # %Hawaii36,08667.3%16,01529.8%20,07137.5%52,101Honolulu201,85169.3%83,44528.7%118,40640.6%285,296Kauaʻi17,78273.0%5,94824.4%11,83448.6%23,730Maui29,66568.4%12,41928.6%17,24639.8%42,084Totals285,38470.8%117,82729.2%167,55741.6%403,211 References See also LGBT rights in Hawaii Same-sex marriage in Hawaii Category:U.S. state constitutional amendments banning same-sex unions Category:1998 in LGBTQ history Category:LGBTQ rights in Hawaii Category:Same-sex marriage ballot measures in the United States Category:1998 elections in Hawaii Category:1998 ballot measures in the United States Category:Hawaii ballot measures