# 1998 Hawaii Amendment 2

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.
Elections in Hawaii :
Federal government
Presidential elections
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Presidential primaries
Democratic
2000
2004
2008
2016
2020
2024
Republican
2008
2012
2016
2024
U.S. Senate elections
1959
1962
1964
1968
1970
1974
1976
1980
1982
1986
1988
1990
1990 sp
1992
1994
1998
2000
2004
2006
2010
2012
2014 sp
2016
2018
2022
2024
2028
U.S. House of Representatives elections
1959
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1st sp
1988
1990
2nd sp
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2nd sp
2003 (2nd sp)
2004
2006
2008
2010
1st sp
2012
2014
2016
1st sp
2018
2020
2022
2024 :
State government
Gubernatorial elections
1959
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
2026
Senate elections
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
House of Representatives elections
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024 :
Hawaiian Kingdom era
House of Representatives
1884
1886 :
Ballot measures
1998
Amendment 2
2024
Amendment 1 :
Honolulu
Mayoral elections
2008
2010 sp
2012
2016
2020
2024 :
vte :
In 1993, the Hawaii State Supreme Court ruled in Baehr v. Lewin, 852 P.2d 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.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights in Hawaii :
* Baehr v. Lewin (1993) Baehr v. Miike (1996, 1999) Constitutional Amendment 2 (1998) House Bill 444 (2009) Senate Bill 232 (2011) Hawaii Marriage Equality Act (2013)
* Equality Hawaii
* LGBT rights in the United States Same-sex marriage in Hawaii Reciprocal beneficiary relationships in Hawaii LGBT history in Hawaii
* LGBTQ portal
* This box: viewtalkedit
The question that appeared on the ballot for voters was:
   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. On November 3, 1998, Hawaii voters approved the amendment by a vote of 69.2–28.6%, and the state legislature exercised its power to ban same-sex marriage.
The language added by the amendment reads:
   The legislature shall have the power to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples.
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, 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. The measure passed by a vote of 55.9%-44.1%

## Results of vote

Constitutional amendment :
| Choice | Votes | % |
| Yes | 285,384 | 70.8 |
| No | 117,827 | 29.2 |
| Valid votes | 403,211 | 97.8 |
| Invalid or blank votes | 9,309 | 2.2 |
| Total votes | 412,520 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 601,404 | 68.6 |
| Source: Hawaii Office of Elections (November 4, 1998). "1998 General Election Statewide Summary Report". Archived from the original on June 2, 2006. Retrieved April 29, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) |||