1998 Hawaii Amendment 2

{{Short description|Referendum on same-sex marriage}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}

{{Infobox referendum

| name = Constitutional Amendment 2

| title = Hawaii Marriage Amendment

| yes = 285,384

| no = 117,827

| total = 412,520

| electorate = 601,404

| turnoutpct = 67.19

| map = File:1998 Hawaii Constitutional Amendment 2 election results map by county.svg

| mapcaption =

{{col-begin}}

{{col-3}}

Yes

{{legend|#47729E|70–80% |border=1px #AAAAAA solid}}

{{legend|#7D9CBB|60–70% |border=1px #AAAAAA solid}}

{{col-3}}

No vote

{{legend|#808080|No vote |border=1px #AAAAAA solid}}

{{col-3}}

{{col-end}}

| notes = Source: [https://files.hawaii.gov/elections/files/results/1998/general/histatewide.pdf General/OHA - STATE OF HAWAII - Statewide November 03, 1998 ** Summary Report **]

}}

Constitutional Amendment 2 of 1998 amended the Constitution of Hawaii, granting the state legislature the power to prevent same-sex marriage from being conducted or recognized in Hawaii. Amendment 2 was the first constitutional amendment adopted in the United States that specifically targeted same-sex partnerships.{{cite web |title=Baehr v. Miike |website=Lambda Legal |url=https://www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/cases/baehr-v-miike |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120203170420/https://www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/cases/baehr-v-miike |archive-date=3 February 2012 |access-date=28 April 2022}}

{{ElectionsHI}}

In 1993, the Hawaii State Supreme Court ruled in Baehr v. Lewin, {{West|P|852|2|44|Haw.|1993|}}, that refusing to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples was discriminatory under that state's constitution. However, the court did not immediately order the state to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples; rather, it remanded the case to the trial court and ordered the state to justify its position. After the trial court judge rejected the state's justifications for limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples in 1996 (but stayed his ruling to allow the state to appeal to the Supreme Court again), the Hawaii State Legislature passed a proposed constitutional amendment during the 1997 session that would overrule the Supreme Court's 1993 ruling and allow the Legislature to ban same-sex marriage. This constitutional amendment appeared on the 1998 general election ballot as Constitutional Amendment 2.{{cite news| last=Wilson | first=Christie | title=Same-sex marriage issue has endured a long fight in Hawaii | date=24 January 2010 | work=The Honolulu Advertiser | url=http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2010/Jan/24/ln/hawaii1240370.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101214195030/http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2010/Jan/24/ln/hawaii1240370.html |archive-date=14 December 2010 | access-date=29 April 2022}}{{LGBT rights in Hawaii}}The question that appeared on the ballot for voters was:{{cite news| last=Gima | first=Craig | title=Same-sex vote won't answer all questions | date=7 October 1998 | work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin | url=http://archives.starbulletin.com/98/10/07/news/story1.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100807215812/http://archives.starbulletin.com/98/10/07/news/story1.html |archive-date=7 August 2010 | access-date=29 April 2022}}

{{blockquote|Shall the Constitution of the state of Hawaii be amended to specify that the Legislature shall have the power to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples?}}

Amendment 2 differed from amendments that followed in other states in that it did not write a ban on same-sex marriage into the state's constitution; rather, it allowed the state legislature to enact such a ban.{{cite news |last=Niesse |first=Mark |date=23 February 2009 |title=Hawaii is latest civil unions battleground |url=https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/873547 |url-status=live |work=Taiwan News |agency=Associated Press |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220429190745/https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/873547 |archive-date=29 April 2022 |access-date=29 April 2022}} On November 3, 1998, Hawaii voters approved the amendment by a vote of 69.2–28.6%,{{cite web |url=https://files.hawaii.gov/elections/files/results/1998/general/histatewide.pdf |title=General Election 1998 |date=3 November 1998 |website=Hawaii Office of Elections |page=4 |access-date=29 April 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060602191431/http://hawaii.gov/elections/results/1998/general/98swgen.htm |archive-date=2 June 2006}} and the state legislature exercised its power to ban same-sex marriage.

The language added by the amendment reads:{{cite web |title=Article I: Bill of Rights |author=Hawaii Legislative Reference Bureau |work=The Constitution of the State of Hawaii |url=http://hawaii.gov/lrb/con/conart1.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060221002341/http://hawaii.gov/lrb/con/conart1.html |archive-date=21 February 2006 |access-date=29 April 2022}}

{{blockquote|text=The legislature shall have the power to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples.|sign=Article I, section 23|source=The Constitution of the State of Hawaii}}

On October 14, 2013, Hawaii Attorney General David M. Louie stated in a formal legal opinion that Amendment 2 does not prevent the state legislature from legalizing same-sex marriage,{{cite web|title=Haw. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 13-1 |date=14 October 2013 |url=http://ag.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/AG-Opinion-13-1.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112173620/http://ag.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/AG-Opinion-13-1.pdf |archive-date=12 November 2013 |access-date=29 April 2022}} which it did in November 2013 with the Hawaii Marriage Equality Act.

On November 5, 2024, Hawaii held a referendum to remove the amendment from the state constitution.{{Cite web |title=Hawaii Remove Legislature Authority to Limit Marriage to Opposite-Sex Couples Amendment (2024) |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Hawaii_Remove_Legislature_Authority_to_Limit_Marriage_to_Opposite-Sex_Couples_Amendment_(2024) |access-date=2024-05-05 |website=Ballotpedia |language=en}} The measure passed by a vote of 55.9%-44.1%{{Cite web |title=Hawai'i Office of Elections |url=https://elections.hawaii.gov/wp-content/results/histatewide.pdf}}