Voters agree to remove same sex marriage ban from Colorado's constitution
Voters agree to remove same sex marriage ban from Colorado's constitution
Voters agree to remove same sex marriage ban from Colorado's constitution
Summary
Colorado voters passed Amendment J, removing language from the state constitution that defined marriage exclusively as a union between one man and one woman.
This 2006 provision, previously enshrined by Amendment 43, conflicted with the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide.
Supporters, including LGBTQ+ advocacy group One Colorado, argue that Amendment J safeguards same-sex marriage in the state if federal protections are ever overturned.
Opponents, like Focus on the Family and the Colorado Catholic Conference, uphold traditional marriage definitions, asserting that marriage should reflect biological complementarity and support children’s well-being through both maternal and paternal roles.
Will be overruled by national ban next year.
just like that? the governors don't have a say in that?
Nope. Federal law is solely up to Congress to make it and the President to sign it (and the Supreme Court to review if someone sues). Governors only affect state law, and federal law supercedes state law.
States' rights are only valid as long as they support the Republican agenda...
Others have answered, but the reason why "states' rights" don't matter at the Federal level is the Supremacy Clause. States can be more restrictive than the Federal government, but cannot be more lax/loose. An interesting aside is the states that have legalized marijuana usage, where the Federal government has (as of yet) not cracked down on that. It is within constitutional power to do so, but just hasn't.
But states rights!!!!!!!!! /s