Restrictions On November 2, 2004, voters passed
Amendment 1, a
constitutional amendment banning
same-sex marriage. State
statutes also banned same-sex marriage and prohibited the recognition of same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions. These provisions, while unconstitutional and unenforceable since 2015, remain on the books. On February 10, 2025, 20
Democratic lawmakers introduced an unsuccessful resolution to the
Georgia State Senate to repeal the constitutional ban. Representative
RaShaun Kemp, a sponsor of the legislation, said, "The current Georgia Constitution does not recognize same-sex marriage, a reflection of the past and an outdated way of thinking. Right now, the state must follow federal law, which allows my marriage to be recognized. But we must act at the state level to protect these rights." If approved, the measure would have been placed on the ballot for approval by voters.
Lawsuits Burns v. Burns On January 30, 2001, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Larry Salmon ruled against a same-sex couple, Susan Burns and Debra Freer, who sought recognition of their
Vermont civil union. The case,
Burns v. Burns, arose from a child custody consent decree in which Burns and her ex-partner, Darian Burns, agreed that neither parent would host an overnight adult guest in their home while the children were present, unless the parent and the guest were "legally married" or related. In July 2020, the couple entered into a
civil union, but two months later Darian Burns filed a motion for contempt, arguing that Susan Burns had violated the consent decree. Judge Salmon ruled that a civil union could not be recognized in Georgia as equivalent to a
marriage. On January 23, 2002, the
Georgia Court of Appeals upheld the ruling and declared civil unions invalid in the state, and the
Georgia Supreme Court denied review in July 2002.
''Perdue v. O'Kelley'' On May 17, 2006, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Constance C. Russell ruled that Amendment 1 violated procedural rules of the
Constitution of Georgia that ballot questions should be limited to a single subject. Russell said, "People who believe marriages between men and women should have a unique and privileged place in our society may also believe that same-sex relationships should have some place although not marriage. The single-subject rule protects the right of those people to hold both views and reflect both judgments by their vote." Governor
Sonny Perdue said, "The people of Georgia knew exactly what they were doing when an overwhelming 76 percent voted in support of this constitutional amendment. It is sad that a single judge has chosen to reverse this decision", and announced plans to
appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court. On July 7, 2006, the Supreme Court reversed the lower court ruling and declared the 2004 constitutional amendment valid in ''Perdue v. O'Kelley''.
Inniss v. Aderhold On April 22, 2014, three same-sex couples and a widow, represented by
Lambda Legal, filed a
lawsuit in the
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on behalf of themselves and all unmarried same-sex couples and all state residents who had married same-sex spouses in other jurisdictions. Another couple was later added to the suit, which was assigned to Judge
William S. Duffey Jr. Two of the four couples had married in
Connecticut and
New Hampshire. The suit,
Inniss v. Aderhold, named Deborah Aderhold, the State Registrar and Director of Vital Records, as the principal defendant. The
Attorney General of Georgia,
Sam Olens, filed a motion to dismiss in September 2014, and the defendants later argued for an extension to file their briefs because of the volatility of same-sex marriage cases around the country. Judge Duffey granted an extension to October 22, 2014. On January 8, 2015, Judge Duffey denied the defendants' motion to dismiss. He found that the plaintiffs were asserting they had a
fundamental right to marry a partner of the same sex, which was not a right protected by the
Due Process Clause of the
U.S. Constitution. Since a fundamental right was not at issue, he explained he would assess Georgia's ban under the least restrictive standard of review,
rational basis. He denied the motion to dismiss because the state defendants had not yet met the rational basis standard by explaining the link between Georgia's ban on same-sex marriage and the state's interest in "child welfare and procreation". On January 20, 2015, the defendants asked Judge Duffey to
suspend proceedings until the
U.S. Supreme Court ruled in pending same-sex marriage cases, and the plaintiffs supported that request on January 27. On January 29, the court suspended some proceedings, but allowed the parties to appeal his earlier order to the
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, so that court would have a wider set of arguments to consider along with the
Florida case,
Brenner v. Scott. On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in
Obergefell v. Hodges that the Due Process and
Equal Protection clauses of the
Fourteenth Amendment guarantee same-sex couples the right to marry. The decision legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in the
United States. Governor
Nathan Deal said, "While I believe that this issue should be decided by the states and by legislatures, not the federal judiciary, I also believe in the rule of law...The state of Georgia is subject to the laws of the United States, and we will follow them." Attorney General Olens also said he opposed the court ruling but that "Georgia will follow the law and adhere to the ruling of the Court". He instructed state agencies and state employees to treat same-sex couples equally to different-sex couples, and instructed
county clerks to issue
marriage licenses to same-sex couples. All
counties began immediately issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples or announced their intention to do so. in
Valdosta, June 26, 2015 Emma Foulkes and Petrina Bloodworth were the first same-sex couple to marry in Georgia just one hour after the Supreme Court's ruling. Fulton County Judge Jane Morrison officiated at their marriage at the
Fulton County Courthouse in
Atlanta.
Mayor Kasim Reed said, "Today is a historic occasion for the City of Atlanta, for Georgia and for America. The Supreme Court's ruling marks a momentous victory for freedom, equality, and love. It is clear that the arc of history continues to bend ever closer toward justice." Jeff Graham, the executive director of
Georgia Equality, issued the following statement: "The United States Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the freedom to marry across the nation. It's a national victory – and it means that soon, thousands of loving, committed couples throughout the United States – including our state of Georgia – will be able to say 'I do' and at last be respected under the law." Christie and Kindra Baer, a couple for 13 years, were the first to receive a marriage license in
Savannah, and Moriah Martin and Jordyn Dolente were the first to marry in
Athens just after 2 p.m. at the
Clarke County Courthouse. Taylor Nash and Kelly Martinelli were the first same-sex couple to marry in
Gwinnett County. Representative
John Lewis welcomed the court ruling, saying, "Races don't fall in love, genders don't fall in love--people fall in love", and Representative
Hank Johnson called it "historic".
Bernice King, CEO of
The King Center and daughter of
Martin Luther King Jr., said, "It is my sincere prayer that this ruling helps to alleviate violence, in all forms, including physical force, toward our LGBT brothers and sisters; and that the Supreme Court ruling encourages the global community to respect and embrace all LGBT global citizens with dignity and love. In the words of our founder and my mother,
Coretta Scott King, 'The Civil Rights Movement that I believe in thrives on unity and inclusion, not division and exclusion.'"
Developments after legalization Following the overturning of
Roe v. Wade in June 2022 by the U.S. Supreme Court, several state lawmakers expressed concern that
Obergefell could be at risk. Representative
Sam Park said, "The same-sex marriage ban is still on the books, and my understanding is that it would go into effect if the Supreme Court overturns the
Obergefell opinion." Governor
Brian Kemp said he personally opposed same-sex marriage but that "
Dobbs' majority opinion states that
Obergefell is settled".
Stacey Abrams, Kemp's opponent in the
2022 gubernatorial election, pledged to "codify marriage equality into our state's laws". ==Demographics and marriage statistics==