Marriages Between Persons of Same Sex Prohibited; Marriages Not Recognized

1. Law
2. Georgia Code
3. Domestic Relations
4. Marriage Generally
5. General Provisions
6. Marriages Between Persons of Same Sex Prohibited; Marriages Not Recognized

1. It is declared to be the public policy of this state to recognize the union only of man and woman. Marriages between persons of the same sex are prohibited in this state.
2. No marriage between persons of the same sex shall be recognized as entitled to the benefits of marriage. Any marriage entered into by persons of the same sex pursuant to a marriage license issued by another state or foreign jurisdiction or otherwise shall be void in this state. Any contractual rights granted by virtue of such license shall be unenforceable in the courts of this state and the courts of this state shall have no jurisdiction whatsoever under any circumstances to grant a divorce or separate maintenance with respect to such marriage or otherwise to consider or rule on any of the parties' respective rights arising as a result of or in connection with such marriage.

(Code 1981, §19-3-3.1, enacted by Ga. L. 1996, p. 1025, § 1.)

Law reviews.

- For article, "To Say 'I Do': Shahar v. Bowers, Same-Sex Marriage, and Public Employee Free Speech Rights," see 15 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 381 (1998). For article on proposed constitutional amendment on gay marriage, see 21 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 14 (2004). For article, "Speech or Conduct? The Free Speech Claim of Wedding Vendors," see 65 Emory L.J. 241 (2015). For article, "The Odd Couple: How Justices Kennedy and Scalia, Together, Advanced Gay Rights in Romer v. Evans," see 67 Mercer L. Rev. 305 (2016). For review of 1996 domestic relations legislation, see 13 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 137 (1996). For note, "Status or Contract? A Comparative Analysis of Inheritance Rights under Equitable Adoption and Domestic Partnership Doctrines," see 39 Ga. L. Rev. 675 (2005). For comment on adoptions by homosexuals, see 55 Mercer L. Rev. 1415 (2004). For article, "A Holy Secular Institution," see 58 Emory L.J. 1123 (2009). For comment, "By the Power Vested in Me? Licensing Religious Officials to Solemnize Marriage in the Age of Same-Sex Marriage," see 63 Emory L.J. 979 (2014).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Employment denied due to lesbian marriage.

- Attorney General, that is, the State of Georgia's interest, as an employer in promoting the efficiency of the Attorney General's important public service outweighed the plaintiff's personal associational interests in a lesbian marriage. Shahar v. Bowers, 114 F.3d 1097 (11th Cir. 1997), cert. denied, 522 U.S. 1049, 118 S. Ct. 693, 139 L. Ed. 2d 638 (1998).

Cited in Bloom v. Camp, 336 Ga. App. 891, 785 S.E.2d 573 (2016).

RESEARCH REFERENCES

ALR.

- Marriage between persons of the same sex, 81 A.L.R.5th 1.

Marriage between persons of same sex - United States and Canadian cases, 1 A.L.R. Fed. 2d 1.

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