The Marriage Law Project at The Catholic University of America

Louisiana

Amendment

§15. Defense of Marriage

Section 15. Marriage in the state of Louisiana shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman. No official or court of the state of Louisiana shall construe this constitution of any state law to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any member of a union other than the union of one man and one woman. A legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized. No official or court of the state of Louisiana shall recognize any marriage contracted in any other jurisdiction which is not the union of one man and one woman.
(Full text available here and ballot text available here).

Statutes

Marriage Recognition Act (1999)

AN ACT to amend and reenact Civil Code Articles 89 and 3520, relative to same sex marriages; to prohibit the recognition of any marriage between persons of the same sex; to provide for any such marriage contracted in another state or jurisdiction; to provide for the effect of any public act, record or judicial proceeding in another state or jurisdiction which authorizes such marriages; and to provide for related matters.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:

Act 890, § 1
Section 1. Civil Code Articles 89 and 3520 are hereby amended and reenacted to read as follows:

Art. 89. Impediment of same sex

Persons of the same sex may not contract marriage with each other. A purported marriage between persons of the same sex contracted in another state shall be governed by the provisions of Title II of Book IV of the Civil Code.

Art. 3520. Marriage

A. A marriage that is valid in the state where contracted, or in the state where the parties were first domiciled as husband and wife, shall be treated as a valid marriage unless to do so would violate a strong public policy of the state whose law is applicable to the particular issue under Article 3519.

B. A purported marriage between persons of the same sex violates a strong public policy of the state of Louisiana and such a marriage contracted in another state shall not be recognized in this state for any purpose, including the assertion of any right or claim as a result of the purported marriage.
Louisiana Act No. 890 (1999)(approved July 2, 1999 )

Cases

Forum for Equality P.A.C. v. McKeithen (Louisiana): On December 1, 2004, attorneys argued before the Louisiana Supreme court, appealing the lower court's decision to declare the state's marriage amendment, recognizing marriage as solely between one man and one woman, invalid due to the single subject rule.
See Story

Amicus Brief on behalf of Katharine Shaw Spaht, J. Randall Trahan, and Richard D. Moreno

Websites

Government Website

Last Revised 29-Jul-05 10:53 AM.