A legislative petition is on its way to the Idaho House floor, requesting that the U.S. Supreme Court reexamine its 2015 ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.
House Joint Memorial 1 was approved by the Idaho House State Affairs Committee on Wednesday in a 13-2 vote following over two hours of testimony. The two Democrats on the committee voted against it, while all of the Republicans supported it. The memorial urges the restoration of state control over marriage definitions and is addressed to the U.S. Supreme Court. It requests that the court reexamine its ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), which made same-sex marriage legal.
Its goal, according to sponsor Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, is to restore state sovereignty.
Scott said the committee, “We’re sending this clear message from Idaho.” We don’t want our constitution and laws to be violated, and as a state, we should decide what we want to do.
Passing a memorial in both chambers would not make it a law because it is not a bill.
Memorial supporters talk about religion and state sovereignty.
Citing their Christian religion and their conviction that Obergefell v. Hodges compromises state rights, four witnesses testified in support of the proposal.
According to Katherine Hartley, an attorney with the Pacific Justice Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting faith and family concerns, defining marriage is a state matter because it is not listed in our federal constitution.
Blackfoot Republican former Representative Julianne Young also spoke in favor of the memorial. As a woman, wife, and mother, she said that she was testifying on behalf of her beliefs and herself.
Young told the committee, “I think the state of Idaho should have the option to choose to align their policy with these timeless truths.”
Representatives from the conservative Christian Idaho Family Policy Center and the anti-LGBTQ+ group Mass Resistance also testified.
Opposition outnumbers support for the LGBTQ+ community.
When Scott introduced the memorial, 17 people testified against the proposal, including members of the LGBTQ+ community, medical professionals, students, and religious leaders, and hundreds of others left the committee chamber in protest.
Scott’s claim that the memorial is centered on states’ rights was rebutted by opponents and the two Democrats on the committee.
Rep. Todd Achilles, D-Boise, informed Scott that segregation was justified under state sovereignty during the Jim Crow era. And in the wake of the Civil War, we as a nation passed the 14th Amendment to redress those discriminatory state laws. What is the boundary? Who else is subject to discrimination in Idaho if we can defend prejudice against a same-sex couple?
Boise First United Church of Christ pastor The Rev. Josh Lee spoke out against the bill, describing his experiences as a gay man and Christian.
According to Lee, I knew as a child that I loved men, Jesus, and being a pastor, but I had no idea how these three things could possibly coexist in the world. I didn’t realize that for many years.
Prior to meeting other Christians who supported the LGBTQ+ community, Lee said he had considered suicide and had attended conversion therapy three times throughout his high school years. He claimed that after leaving New York, he and his spouse relocated to Idaho in order to support the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals.
“I urge this Legislature this morning to focus on the issues that truly impact Idahoans, like education, health care, and infrastructure, instead of taking away people’s rights,” he stated.
Another Hailey resident who spoke against the bill was Koii Lauritsen, who told the committee that he was raised by a lesbian couple.
He claimed that his mother had attended every awful school play and elementary school Christmas concert. They taught me how to drive a stick, how to shave, how to throw a ball, and how to ride a bike.
Lauritsen requested that the committee put his family’s needs ahead of its own state rights concerns.
“My lesbian parents deserve as much respect as any other two people who are trying to live the American dream, so I will not ask that you understand, embrace, or even accept my family, but I will ask that you show it and others like it the respect they deserve,” he added.
The memorial will now be discussed on the Idaho House of Representatives floor. The memorial would then be forwarded to the Idaho Senate for review if the House approved it.
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