North Dakota lawmakers throw out resolution against same-sex marriage: What to know

More than nine years have passed since the U.S. Supreme Court made same-sex marriage legal across the country with its ruling in the Obergefell v. Hodges case.

But a resolution considered – and ultimately rejected – by North Dakota lawmakers would have urged the court to overturn that decision. 

The resolution, sponsored by Rep. Bill Tveit, a Republican from Hazen, was passed in February by the North Dakota House on a 52-40 vote, with one member absent or excused. 

On Wednesday, a state Senate committee voted 6-1 to send the resolution to the full Senate, the North Dakota Monitor reported. More than 300 people submitted testimony ahead of a public hearing, with the vast majority in opposition.

Sen. Ryan Braunberger, a Democrat from Fargo, was the lone vote against the motion to advance the resolution to a Senate vote.

“I want my constituents to know that I disagree with this wholeheartedly,” he said. “This bill is coming from a place of hate.”

The state Senate spent less than 10 minutes debating the resolution Thursday before striking it down with a 16-31 vote, The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead reported.

Tveit told The Associated Press that the Obergefell ruling “went totally against the Tenth Amendment, went totally against the North Dakota Constitution and North Dakota Century Code (state laws).”

“Why did I introduce it? Every one of us in this building took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the state,” he said.

Here’s what to know about the resolution and the Supreme Court’s nearly decade-old same-sex marriage ruling.

What did the North Dakota same-sex marriage resolution say?

The text of the resolution began by urging the Supreme Court to “restore the definition of marriage to a union between one man and one woman.”

The court’s ruling, it said, requires states to recognize same-sex marriage and issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in “complete contravention of a state’s own constitution and the will of the state’s voters, thus undermining the civil liberties of those states’ residents and voters.”

It also said the Obergefell decision “arbitrarily and unjustly rejected the definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman,” calling it an “illegitimate overreach.”

It concluded by urging the Supreme Court to overturn its ruling and restore “the issue of marriage and enforcement of all laws pertaining to marriage back to the states and the people.”

Which North Dakota officials supported of the resolution?

Tveit, the resolution’s sponsor, said Wednesday, “It’s past time for North Dakota citizens to speak their displeasure with this Supreme Court decision and call for restoration of the definition of marriage as only of the legal union between a man and a woman.”

Arthur Schaper, a field director for MassResistance, which was labeled an anti-LGBTQ hate group by the GLAAD Accountability Project, also spoke in support of the resolution on Wednesday. He said, “It is a crime against nature to teach anyone that they are born homosexual or transgender. These patterns of behavior are inherently harmful to individuals and they should not be granted a privileged status in marriage.”

Which North Dakota officials opposed the resolution?

Braunberger, the Democratic state senator from Fargo, said after Thursday’s vote, “Hopefully in the future, we don’t have to do these frivolous things and can work on real issues, like making sure everybody can put food on their table.”

On Wednesday, state Rep. Matt Ruby, a Republican from Minot who supported the resolution when it passed the state House, told the Senate committee he regretted his vote.

“I knew before we were done with that floor session that I had made a mistake,” he said. “I’ve regretted a lot of votes over my four sessions. This is the first time I’ve been disappointed with myself over a vote.”

Bradley King, a Bismarck resident, also testified against the resolution on Wednesday. He held up a picture of his daughter, a middle school teacher, and her wife, and said how proud he was to walk her down the aisle, the North Dakota Monitor reported.

“Right now, you are looking at one angry father,” King said. “I personally feel that this is an attack on my daughter.”

What is the Obergefell decision?

The Supreme Court’s decision is named for Jim Obergefell, who started a lawsuit with 30 other plaintiffs after his husband, John, died from ALS and the state of Ohio refused to allow Obergefell’s name to be on his death certificate, USA TODAY reported at the time.

“No American should have to suffer that indignity, that’s why John and I and the 30 plaintiffs who are a part of this lawsuit decided to fight,” Obergefell said.

The Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision ruled the Constitution does not limit the marriage rights of same-sex couples and effectively legalized same-sex marriages across the country. The decision followed decades of legal battles over the constitutionality of same-sex marriage.