The Arkansas Senate has approved a bill
that calls for a constitutional convention to ban same-sex marriage
throughout the United States.
According to the Associated
Press, Arkansas' Republican-controlled Senate on Tuesday approved
Senate Joint Resolution 7 by a 19-9 vote, sending the measure to the
House.
Introduced by Senator Jason Rapert,
SJR7 calls for a constitutional convention “for the purpose of
proposing an amendment prohibiting the United States Constitution or
the Constitution or Laws of any state from defining or construing the
definition of 'marriage' to mean anything other than the union of one
man and one woman.”
The Supreme Court in 2015 found that
gay and lesbian couples have a constitutional right to marry,
striking down laws and constitutional amendments in many states,
including in Arkansas, that defined marriage as solely a heterosexual
union.
(Related: Trump
“fine” with Supreme Court gay marriage ruling.)
Kendra Johnson, state director for the
Human Rights Campaign's (HRC) Arkansas chapter, criticized the
Senate's vote.
“Marriage equality is settled law,
and any bill or legislator seeking to undermine it is in conflict
with the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Constitution,” Johnson
said in a statement. “HRC Arkansas calls on our lawmakers to put an
end to these cynical, divisive theatrics, and start focusing on the
issues that matter to Arkansans instead introducing a bill that would
only seek to harm LGBTQ people.”
A constitutional convention can be
called by 34 state legislatures. A proposed amendment becomes law
when ratified by 38 states.