Georgia Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Overruled on Procedural Grounds

Shaila Dewan, Same-Sex Marriage Amendment Is Struck Down by Georgia Judge, NY Times, May 17, 2006 reports that a Georgia constitutional

amendment banning same-sex marriage was struck down Tuesday by a judge who upheld the voters’ right to limit marriage to heterosexual couples but cited procedural flaws in the wording of the amendment, which was approved by more than three-quarters of voters. * * *

The Georgia amendment defined marriage as between a man and a woman, banned same-sex civil unions and said that same-sex unions performed in other states would not be recognized. The judge, Constance C. Russell of Fulton County Superior Court, ruled that the amendment violated Georgia’s single-subject rule, which limits each amendment put before voters to one topic.