State constitutional amendments restricting marriage succeeded where the federal amendment failed

Evidence

Beyond the borders of Massachusetts, Goodridge activated both opponents and proponents of same-sex marriage. With the support of President George W. Bush, members of Congress proposed a federal constitutional amendment that defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman and prohibited interpreting federal or state constitutions to “require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any union other than the union of a man and a woman.” But this proposal failed to secure the required two-thirds majority in Congress. At the state level, opponents of same-sex marriage enjoyed greater success. From 2004-2012, 27 states amended their constitutions to restrict marriage to opposite-sex couples, joining Alaska, Hawaii, Nebraska, and Nevada, which had done so in the aftermath of Baehr. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 3352

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Voters removed Iowa Supreme Court justices over an unpopular same-sex marriage ruling; American states frequently replaced whole constitutions rather than amend them — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 657