November 2004 to January 2005: A cold hard winter

Pres. Bush
and VP Cheney

Amendments and the Supreme Court

In November, 11 states adopt constitutional amendments, and President Bush is re-elected. His election will have substantial consequences for the freedom to marry in the US as he not only vows to promote amending the Constitution, but, over his term, he will be able to appoint at least two conservative justices to life terms on the Supreme Court.

In December, a bill is filed in California to permit marriage, and a month later, the domestic partnership law passed there in 2003 takes full effect — the first state after Vermont to allow civil unions or what California calls domestic partnerships.

Procreate responsibly

Also in January, Morrison v. O’Bannon, filed in 2002, loses at the Indiana Court of Appeals. It fails because, according to the court, marriage…

encourag[es] opposite-sex couples to procreate responsibly and have and raise children within a stable environment.

Oddly, opposite-sex couples aren’t required to prove or even affirm that they can and intend to procreate responsibly and have and raise children within a stable environment before being granted a marriage license. Yet same-sex couples are held to that standard, and denied marriage even if they already have and raise children within a stable environment.

Timeline key: progress (green), no progress (red), pending court cases (purple),
events that are neutral, not directly related, or with both positive and negative effects (black)