Amendment 1

November 7, 2006
Tennessee Marriage Protection Act
Results
Choice Votes % Yes 1,419,434 81.25% No 327,536 18.75% Valid votes 1,746,970 100.00% Invalid or blank votes 0 0.00% Total votes 1,746,970 100.00% Registered voters/turnout 3,738,703 49.97%
Yes   90–100%   80–90%   70–80%   60–70%
Sources: [1][2]

The Tennessee Marriage Protection Amendment, also known as Tennessee Amendment 1 of 2006, is a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex unions. The referendum was approved by 81% of voters. It specified that only a marriage between a man and a woman could be legally recognized in the state of Tennessee. This prohibited same-sex marriages within the state, reinforcing previously existing statutes to the same effect^[3] until it was overturned by the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling in June 2015.

Elections in Tennessee
Federal government U.S. President 1796 1800 1804 1808 1812 1816 1820 1824 1828 1832 1836 1840 1844 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Presidential primaries Democratic 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 Republican 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 U.S. Senate 1796 1798 1803 1809 1823 1826 1829 1833 1835 1841 1844 1847 1851 1853 1858 1866 1867 1875 1877 1883 1887 1889 1893 1895 1899 1901 1905 1907 1911 1913 1916 1918 1922 1924 1928 1930 1934 1936 1940 1942 1946 1948 1952 1954 1958 1960 1964 1966 1970 1972 1976 1978 1982 1984 1988 1990 1994 1996 2000 2002 2006 2008 2012 2014 2018 2020 2024 2026 U.S. House 1796 1797 1799 1801 1803 1805 1807 1809 1811 1813 1815 1817 1819 1821 1823 1825 1827 1829 1831 1833 1835 1837 1839 1841 1842 1843 1845 1847 1849 1851 1853 1855 1857 1859 1861 1865 1867 1868 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 Special elections Senate 1797 1798 1799 1809 1811 1815 1817 1819 1821 1825 1829 1838 1839 1840 1843 1857 1877 1898 1905 1913 1930 1934 1938 1964 1994 House At-large 1797 1801 1st 1910 1961 2nd 1815 1891 1939 1964 1988 3rd 1939 4th 1837 1874 1875 5th 1814 1975 1988 6th 1939 7th 1932 1939 8th 1845 1958 1969 9th 1940
State government State elections 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 Gubernatorial elections 1796 1797 1799 1801 1803 1805 1807 1809 1811 1813 1815 1817 1819 1821 1823 1825 1827 1829 1831 1833 1835 1837 1839 1841 1843 1845 1847 1849 1851 1853 1855 1857 1859 1861 1863 1865 1867 1869 1870 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1958 1962 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 State Senate elections 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 House of Representatives elections 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
Ballot measures 2006 Amendment 1 2014 Amendment 1 2022 Amendment 1 Amendment 3 Nashville measures Nashville Charter Amendment 1 Let's Move Nashville
Local elections Hamilton County mayoral elections 2018 2022 Chattanooga mayoral elections 2013 2017 2021 2025 Knox County mayoral elections 2010 2014 2018 2022 Knoxville mayoral elections 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023 Shelby County mayoral elections 2010 2014 2018 2022 Memphis mayoral elections 2011 2015 2019 2023 Clarksville Mayoral elections 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 Jackson Mayoral elections 2015 2019 2023 Murfreesboro Mayoral elections 2014 2018 2022 Nashville Mayoral elections 2007 2011 2015 2018 (sp) 2019 2023
Government

In order for an amendment to the Tennessee State Constitution to be fully ratified, it must be approved by both houses of the Tennessee General Assembly for two successive legislative sessions. It is then put on the ballot as a referendum in the next gubernatorial election, where it must be approved by an absolute majority of those voting in the election.

The amendment was first proposed in the Tennessee House of Representatives on March 17, 2004, as House Joint Resolution 990 (HJR 990), sponsored by TNGA Rep. Bill Dunn (R, Knoxville)^[4] The House of Representatives approved HJR 990 on May 6, 2004, by a vote of eighty-five to five. The measure received Senate approval on May 19, 2004, by a vote of twenty-eight to one. After the 2004 election, the amendment was introduced in the Tennessee Senate as Senate Joint Resolution 31 (SJR 31). The Senate approved the measure on February 28, 2005, by a vote of twenty-nine to three, and the House of Representatives approved the measure on March 17, 2005, by a vote of eighty-eight to seven.^[5] The amendment was then slated to be submitted to voters as a referendum during the 2006 gubernatorial election.^[6]

On April 21, 2005, a lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, the Tennessee Equality Project, and other plaintiffs, claiming that the amendment had not been published in a timely manner between legislative sessions as the state constitution required; specifically, that its newspaper publication had occurred only four months prior to the legislative election in November 2004 rather than the required six. This suit was dismissed at the appellate court level in March 2006 on the grounds that the legislature's intent to put the amendment before voters in November 2006 was widely reported in the media, meeting this requirement in spirit if not in letter. This decision was in turn appealed to the Tennessee Supreme Court. The Tennessee Supreme Court rejected the ACLU's case in July 2006, stating that the plaintiffs did not show adequate standing to bring the lawsuit, thereby clearing the way for the amendment to appear on the November ballot.^[6][7]

Polls conducted prior to the election showed widespread support for the amendment. According to a Mason-Dixon poll released one month before the election, seventy-three percent of registered Tennessee voters supported the amendment, twenty percent opposed it, and seven percent were undecided.^[8]

The amendment appeared on ballots as Constitutional Amendment #1. The text of the amendment states:

The historical institution and legal contract solemnizing the relationship of one man and one woman shall be the only legally recognized marital contract in this state. Any policy or law or judicial interpretation, purporting to define marriage as anything other than the historical institution and legal contract between one man and one woman is contrary to the public policy of this state and shall be void and unenforceable in Tennessee. If another state or foreign jurisdiction issues a license for persons to marry and if such marriage is prohibited in this state by the provisions of this section, then the marriage shall be void and unenforceable in this state.

The amendment passed by a large margin. 81.25% of voters participating in the election, or almost 31% of eligible voters in the state, approved the amendment and 18.75% of election participants opposed it.^[9]

Constitutional Amendment 1

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	1,419,434	81.25
No	327,536	18.75
Total votes	1,746,970	100.00
Source: Tennessee Secretary of State – Tennessee 2006 election results

All 95 counties of Tennessee voted for the amendment.^[9]

• Same-sex marriage in the United States
• Same-sex marriage legislation in the United States
• Same-sex marriage legislation in the United States by state
• Same-sex marriage in the United States public opinion
• List of U.S. state laws on same-sex unions
• Federal Marriage Amendment
• 2006 Tennessee elections

• The Money Behind the 2006 Marriage Amendments -- National Institute on Money in State Politics