Alabama lawmakers lined up during the opening days of the 2005 Regular Session of the state Legislature to support a ban on same-sex “marriage” in Alabama.
The issue was debated during the 2004 Regular Session of the state Legislature but was not pushed through due to a disagreement over when to have the statewide referendum.
Bills in the current legislative session were introduced in both the House and the Senate during the first legislative day, Feb. 1.
The House bill – sponsored by Rep. Yusuf Salaam, D-Selma; Ken Guin, D-Carbon Hill, and 22 other representatives – was voted out of the Constitution and Elections Committee Feb. 2 and placed on the House calendar for Feb. 8.
The legislation – House Bill (HB) 59- proposes an amendment to the state constitution “to provide that no marriage license shall be issued in Alabama to parties of the same sex and that the state shall not recognize a marriage of parties of the same sex that occurred as a result of the law of any other jurisdiction.”
Senate Bill 109- sponsored by Sen. Hinton Mitchem, D-Albertville; Sen. Gerald Dial, D-Lineville; and nine others – passed through the Judiciary Committee Feb. 2 and was placed on the Senate calendar for Feb. 8.
Dan Ireland, executive director of Alabama Citizens Action Program (ALCAP), said the bills sound similar but there are a few differences. As of press time, he favored HB 59.
“I think the House bill is more appropriate and more comprehensive,” he said, noting it more solidly addresses the issue of same-sex unions from other states.
The House bill also states that the amendment would appear on the ballot of the next election, whenever that is (2005 or 2006), Ireland said. The Senate version seems to imply that the vote would have to happen during an election in 2005 or it would be null and void. Either way, it needs to happen during a scheduled election because of the expense of a called election, Ireland said.
(TAB)
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