State lawmakers referred Amendment J to the ballot during the most recent legislative session. It would remove language from the state constitution that declares, “Only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state.”
Voters put the marriage ban in the state constitution in 2006.
Same-sex marriage has been recognized in Colorado, and across the country, ever since the U.S Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges. In a 5-4 decision, the justices extended the federal right to marry to same-sex couples. In 2022 U.S Congress repealed language in federal law that banned gay marriage.
While Colorado’s marriage ban is no longer in effect, the language will remain on the books unless voters choose to remove it.
Because Amendment J repeals a portion of the state constitution, it only requires a simple majority vote to pass, rather than the higher threshold needed for adding new provisions.
Here’s the language you’ll see on your ballot:
“Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution removing the ban on same-sex marriages?”
How would Amendment J work?
The amendment would not have any immediate tangible impact in Colorado because same-sex marriage is legal across the country.
Additionally, Colorado is covered by a 2014 ruling from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals that struck down Utah’s gay marriage ban as unconstitutional. That decision led Colorado clerks to start issuing same sex marriage licenses while the larger national question was still unsettled. The Utah case was never taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court, which chose instead to rule on suit involving a different group of states.
Who’s for Amendment J?
The lawmakers who referred this question, which they titled “Protecting the Freedom to Marry,” to the November ballot say it’s important to remove this obsolete language from the state constitution after the law has changed, especially language that is hurtful or discriminatory to a particular group.
The measure had strong bipartisan support in the state Senate but passed with almost exclusively Democratic support in the House.
Some backers also see it as proactive protection, in case the U.S. Supreme Court ever revisits, and revokes, its ruling on same sex marriage, as at least two conservative justices appear to want to do. If that happened, the question of whether to recognize same-sex marriages would revert to each state, potentially allowing the ban in Colorado’s constitution to once again take effect.
Who’s against Amendment J?
The amendment has no organized opposition, although the Colorado Catholic Conference is against it. In a written statement the Catholic Conference said that every child has a natural right to a mother and a father and that marriage between one man and one woman is proven to be the best anti-poverty, anti-crime, and pro-health institution in society.
“Marriage is based on the truth that men and women are complementary, the biological fact that reproduction depends on a man and a woman, and the social science that supports the reality that children need both a mother and a father to flourish.”
Additionally, some people of other faith or cultural backgrounds also oppose same sex marriage based on their beliefs.
