2000 Alabama Amendment 2

Referendum allowing interracial marriage February 2026 November 2020 Amendment 2 Alabama November 7, 2000 Alabama Interracial Marriage Amendment 801725 545933 1347658 300px County results 300px Congressional district results Yes #28497C 80%–90% #47729E 70%–80% #7D9CBB 60%–70% #B6C8D9 50%–60% No #BCBC83 60%–70% #DEDEBD 50%–60% Source: Secretary of State of Alabamahttps://www.sos.alabama.gov/sites/default/files/voter-pdfs/2000/2000g-amend.pdf Results 2000 Secretary of State of Alabama 2020-11-10 2000 Alabama Amendment 2, also known as the Alabama Interracial Marriage Amendment, was a proposed amendment to the Constitution of Alabama to remove Alabama's ban on interracial marriage. Interracial marriage had already been legalized nationwide 33 years prior in 1967, following Loving v. Virginia, making the vote symbolic. The amendment was approved with 59.5% voting yes, a 19 percentage point margin, though 25 of Alabama's 67 counties voted against it. Alabama was the last state to officially repeal its anti-miscegenation laws, following South Carolina in 1998. Background The Constitution of Alabama, passed in 1901, officially prohibited interracial marriage in the state. Article IV, Section 102 states, "The legislature shall never pass any law to authorize or legalize any marriage between any white person and a negro, or descendant of a negro".Owens Gene Alabama Voters To Decide Fate Of Miscegenation Ban https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2000/10/23/alabama-voters-to-decide-fate-of-miscegenation-ban The Pew Charitable Trusts 10 November 2020 23 October 2000 However, interracial marriage had been legal in Alabama since 1967, when the United States Supreme Court struck down Virginia's anti-miscegenation laws in the landmark decision Loving v. Virginia. Therefore, the amendment was symbolic rather than changing actual policy in the state. Amendment 2 was a legislatively referred constitutional amendment proposed by Act Number 1999–321. A previous 1998 bill on the same topic died in committee.Cabell Brian Alabama considers lifting interracial marriage ban https://www.cnn.com/US/9903/12/interracial.marriage/ November 7, 2021 CNN March 12, 1999 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20240206221408/https://www.cnn.com/US/9903/12/interracial.marriage/ February 6, 2024 The amendment's wording was tailored to avoid accidentally legalizing same-sex marriage.Minchin Timothy "A sharp break from the recent past"? Assessing the Rise in Interracial Marriage in the Contemporary United States Australasian Journal of American Studies July 2013 32 1 40 43863825 November 18, 2021 https://www.jstor.org/stable/43863825 Support and opposition The Anniston Star endorsed the amendment, describing it as a "no-brainer" and the current state of the constitution a "terrible embarrassment".https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88488103/amendments/ 2000-11-03 6 Amendments The Anniston Star Anniston, Alabama Incumbent Attorney General of Alabama Bill Pryor endorsed the amendment, writing that the amendment would repeal a "racist and immoral" part of the constitution, and that rejecting the amendment would lead to a negative view of Alabama that would hurt the state's economy.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88487974/voters-should-repeal-marriage-ban/ 2000-10-13 12 Voters should repeal marriage ban The Montgomery Advertiser Montgomery, Alabama Pryor Bill William H. Pryor Jr. The Sons of Confederate Veterans and United Daughters of the Confederacy did not endorse the amendment, but did not oppose it either.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88488235/amendment-2/ 2000-09-11 4 Amendment 2 The Anniston Star Anniston, Alabama Prominent opposition to the amendment came from the Southern Party, a minor political party which also sought to establish the Southern United States as an independent nation, and from the Confederate Heritage Political Action Committee. Activist Michael Chappell, a prominent member of the Confederate Heritage Political Action Committee, said he opposed the amendment because he did not believe in interracial marriage, and wanted to use the issue to activate other pro-Confederacy supporters for future campaigns.Campbell Duncan Alabama votes on removing its ban on mixed marriages https://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/nov/03/uselections2000.usa7 November 7, 2021 The Guardian November 3, 2000 Chappell later tried to have the amendment overturned in court. Contents The amendment appeared on the ballot as follows:Proposed Constitutional Amendments https://www.sos.alabama.gov/alabama-votes/voter/election-information/2000/proposed-ammendments Alabama Secretary of State 10 November 2020 Proposed Statewide Amendment Number 2 Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, to abolish the prohibition of interracial marriages. (Proposed by Act No. 1999-321) The amendment modified the text of Article IV, Section 102 of Alabama's constitution, which previously read "Miscegenation laws. The legislature shall never pass any law to authorize or legalize any marriage between any white person and a negro, or descendant of a negro", by appending the sentence "This section has been annulled by Amendment 667." Results Proposal 2 801725 545933 The amendment was approved with about 60% of the vote. Twenty-five counties with high white populations voted against the amendment, while counties with high black populations voted for it.http://www.salon.com/2001/03/08/sollors/ Mixing it up Suzy Hansen Salon 10 November 2020 2001-03-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20160414233158/http://www.salon.com/2001/03/08/sollors/ 14 April 2016 liveAlabama removes ban on interracial marriage 7 November 2000 https://www.usatoday.com/news/vote2000/al/main03.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20020914164652/http://www.usatoday.com/news/vote2000/al/main03.htm dead 14 September 2002 USA Today 10 November 2020 The Alabama electorate in 2000 was 73% white and 25% black, meaning that the proposal received a significant amount of support from white voters, with around the same number voting for and against the amendment. This was noted as a "remarkable change in white attitudes" in the book Alabama in the Twentieth Century.Flynt Wayne Alabama in the Twentieth Century 2004 University of Alabama Press Tuscaloosa, Alabama 9780817381868 369 https://muse.jhu.edu/book/6453 November 18, 2021 Analysis and aftermath Of the 17 states with anti-miscegenation laws when Loving v. Virginia was decided, Alabama was the last state to officially repeal its anti-miscegenation laws,Srikanth Anagha The origins of Loving Day explained https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/diversity-inclusion/502540-the-origins-of-loving-day-explained The Hill 10 November 2020 en 12 June 2020 following South Carolina's repeal in 1998. The amendment's passage received significant national media attention, including in The Boston Globe, the Chicago Tribune, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times.Richter Jeremy W. Alabama's Anti-Miscegenation Statutes Alabama Review 2015 68 4 345–365 10.1353/ala.2015.0033 155583225 https://muse.jhu.edu/article/607631 November 18, 2021 subscription It also provided encouragement for other states to remove racist language from their own constitutions, including laws preventing Asians from owning property in New Mexico and Kansas. In 2002 it inspired Oregon to repeal its unenforceable black exclusion laws, which dated back to 1857.Prengaman Peter Oregon to Vote on Racist Words https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88934225/oregon-to-vote-on-racist-words/ November 21, 2021 Associated Press September 29, 2002Davis Alex Racist language draws reactions https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89303955/racist-language-draws-reactions/ November 21, 2021 Statesman Journal November 7, 2002 In the Montgomery Advertiser, staff columnist Quinn Chattmon wrote that while it was good that the state passed the amendment, it was unfortunate that it was opposed by forty percent of the population. Chattmon wrote that it was "difficult to fathom" why people voted against Amendment 2, and that while the amendment won support from many white voters, race relations still needed significant work.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/88486507/race-relations-still-need-work/ 2000-11-30 8 Race relations still need work Montgomery Advertiser Montgomery, Alabama Quin Chattmon The amendment was challenged in the lawsuit Chappell v. State. Michael Chappell filed a complaint on September 29, 2000, claiming that the amendment was invalid, because the amendment was described improperly on the ballot. He first sought a preliminary injunction against the measure before the election was held, and later sought to overturn it after the election was held. Chappell's complaint was dismissed in court.http://lsa.state.al.us/PDF/ALI/Publications/Alabama_Legislation_9th_Edition.pdf Alabama Legislation Ninth Edition November 2018 285–288 Alabama Legislative Services Agency November 7, 2021 November 7, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20211107044251/http://lsa.state.al.us/PDF/ALI/Publications/Alabama_Legislation_9th_Edition.pdf dead Alabama's miscegenation ban was compared to its same-sex marriage ban, especially after it was also ruled unconstitutional in the 2015 United States Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges. Alabama's gay marriage ban was approved in 2006 with 80% of the vote, passing in every county.Blake Aaron Alabama was a final holdout on desegregation and interracial marriage. It could happen again on gay marriage. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/02/09/alabama-was-a-final-holdout-on-desegregation-and-interracial-marriage-it-could-happen-again-on-gay-marriage/ The Washington Post 10 November 2020 5 February 2015 See also 2004 Alabama Amendment 2 References External links Alabama_Interracial_Marriage,_Amendment_2_(2000) Category:2000 Alabama elections Category:2000 ballot measures in the United States Category:Alabama ballot measures Category:Interracial marriage in the United States Category:Race legislation in the United States Category:Marriage in Alabama