North Dakota Senate Rejects Resolution Asking US Supreme Court to Overturn Same-Sex Marriage Ruling

The North Dakota Senate on Thursday rejected a measure that would have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its landmark 2015 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

A vote to approve would have made North Dakota the first state to make such an overture to the high court, after the state House passed the measure last month.

The resolution failed in a 16-31 Senate vote after about 10 minutes of debate.

Democratic Sen. Josh Boschee said in opposition, "I understand that this puts us all in a tough spot, but I ask you to think about who's put in the toughest position with this resolution: the people of North Dakota who are the subject of the resolution ... the gay and lesbian North Dakotans who did not ask to be the subject of this conversation, but the conversation was brought to us."

Republican Sen. David Clemens supported the measure, saying that while the U.S. Constitution does not mention marriage, the North Dakota Constitution recognizes marriage as between a man and a woman. Clemens said he took an oath to uphold that document.

Several people in the gallery applauded when the measure's defeat was announced.

Massachusetts-based MassResistance pushed the measure and ones in other states. The group called itself an "international pro-family group." But it has been labeled an "anti-LGBTQ hate group" by the LGBTQ+ advocacy organization GLAAD.