Same-sex marriage in South Dakota
Same-sex marriage in South Dakota has been legal since June 26, 2015 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in "Obergefell v. Hodges" that the U.S. Constitution guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry. Attorney General Marty Jackley issued a statement critical of the ruling but said South Dakota is obligated to comply and the state would recognize same-sex marriages. Legal history. Restrictions. South Dakota voters adopted a constitutional amendment in November 2006 that defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman and prohibited the recognition of same-sex  relationships under any other name, such as civil unions and domestic partnerships. Similar restrictions appear in the state statutes as well. Lawsuit. Section::::"Rosenbrahn v. Daugaard". On May 22, 2014, six same-sex couples filed a federal lawsuit against South Dakota officials seeking the right to marry and recognition of marriages performed in other jurisdictions. The suit, "Rosenbrahn v. Daugaard", was brought by Minneapolis civil rights attorney Joshua A. Newville, who filed a similar lawsuit on behalf of seven same-sex couples in North Dakota on June 6, 2014. The suit named Governor Dennis Daugaard as the first-named defendant. U.S.  District Court Judge Karen Schreier heard arguments on October 17. The state defendants argued she was bound by the Eighth Circuit's decision in "Citizens for Equal Protection v. Bruning" (2006), which the plaintiffs said did not address the questions they were raising in this case. On November 12, Judge Schreier denied the defense's motion to dismiss. She found that "Baker v. Nelson" is no longer valid precedent and that "Bruning" did not address due process or the question of a fundamental right to marry. She dismissed the plaintiffs' claim that South Dakota violated their right to travel. On  January 12, 2015, she ruled for the plaintiffs, finding that South Dakota was depriving them of their "fundamental right to marry". She stayed implementation of her ruling pending appeal. On February 10, the plaintiffs asked her to lift the stay, citing the U.S. Supreme Court's denial of a stay in Alabama cases the previous day. Two days later, they requested an expedited response to that request. On March 2, 2015, Judge Schreier denied this motion. She concluded that once the defendants filed their notice of appeal, jurisdiction issue in the case, including the stay, would be transferred to the  Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Eighth Circuit announced on April 29, 2015 that it would defer consideration of the case, pending the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in "Obergefell v. Hodges" in June 2015. On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that laws depriving same-sex couples from accessing the rights and responsibilities of marriage violate the Due Process Clause and Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Attorney General Marty Jackley announced the state would comply. In light of this development, the Eighth Circuit affirmed the judgement of the district court on August 12, 2015. However , it left the decision of whether or not to vacate the stay of permanent injunction of the laws discriminating against same-sex couples to the district court. On September 9, 2015, Judge Schreier granted the plaintiffs' motion to vacate the stay in light of the mandate from the Eighth Circuit. Subsequent developments. In January 2020, Representative Tony Randolph introduced a bill to prohibit the state from "enforcing, endorsing or favoring" same-sex marriage. The bill stood in clear violation of the U.S. Constitution, which under "Obergefell" guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry. The American Civil Liberties Union responded  in a statement: "Marriage equality is the law of the land in South Dakota and the entire nation, no matter what half-baked legal theories anti-LGBTQ lawmakers try to put forward." The bill was withdrawn at Randolph's request on February 24, 2020. Marriage statistics. In the first month of legalization, 40 same-sex couples were granted marriage licenses in the state. By June 26, 2016, 157 marriage licenses had been issued to same-sex couples in South Dakota. This made up around 2% of all marriage licenses issued in the state during that time. Minnehaha County, the state 's most populous county, issued 40 same-sex marriage licenses. By June 2017, 283 same-sex couples had married in South Dakota. 2018 estimates from the United States Census Bureau showed that there were about 1,500 same-sex households in South Dakota. The Bureau estimated that 77.8% of these couples were married. Public opinion. A 2017 poll conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute found that 52% of South Dakotans supported same-sex marriage, while 37% were opposed and 11% were unsure or undecided.