JUNEAU, Alaska — The minority leader of the Alaska Senate on Monday proposed to strike the constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in Alaska.
Sen. Hollis French, D-Anchorage, said that after reading a federal court decision from earlier this month that struck down a voter-approved constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in Virginia, “it was just completely clear to me, that whether we act or we wait for a federal U.S. Supreme Court decision, this is happening. We really are in a long march toward marriage equality.”
In a statement, French said passage of his constitutional amendment would let Alaska voters “remove this blot on our state constitution.”
To pass, the proposal would need a two-thirds vote in each the Alaska Senate and House before it could qualify for the ballot. It is the latest proposed constitutional change to be brought before lawmakers during the 28th Legislature. Supporters of another high-profile proposal, which would allow for public money to be used for private or religious schools, have argued that the people should be allowed to have their say.
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Alaska voters in 1998 approved a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman.
In the past year, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act that prevented legally married same-sex couples from receiving a range of federal benefits. Federal courts have struck down state constitutional bans in Utah, Oklahoma and recently in Virginia, though appeals are pending or expected.
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, also made waves last year, when she announced her support for same-sex marriage. Murkowski, in an opinion piece last June, said her view on the issue “evolved as America has witnessed a clear cultural shift.” She also called it a “personal liberty issue.”
Attorney General Michael Geraghty, in an interview last week, said he would continue to defend the state’s constitution, even as federal courts around the country strike down similar bans on same-sex marriage. Geraghty said he would not make decisions based on federal district court decisions that still had to be reviewed by appellate courts and perhaps the U.S. Supreme Court, which he expected would ultimately weigh in.
Jim Minnery, president of Alaska Family Action, called French’s proposal “a slap in the face” of those who supported the 1998 amendment.
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A definition of marriage is needed in terms of “lifting up an institution that has proven time and time and time again to be the best environment to raise kids,” he said.
Elias Rojas, board president of Alaskans Together For Equality, called French’s proposal “a step in the right direction. Marriage is a fundamental freedom that should not be denied to anyone.”
The proposal comes on the same day that a Senate committee planned to hear a bill that would bar discrimination in areas including employment, housing and credit based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression.
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