Defense of marriage amendments are U.S. state constitutional amendments that have been proposed, and in some instances adopted, to prevent the legalization of same-sex marriage. The term is generally associated with conservative activists favoring such an amendment. In the context of the United States of America, a state constitution is the governing document of a U.S. state, comparable to the U.S. Constitution which is the governing document of the United States. ... Amendment has at least two meanings: An amendment is a formal alteration to any official document or record, typically with the aim of improving it. ... Same-sex marriage is marriage between individuals who are of the same legal or biological sex. ... Conservatism or political conservatism is any of several historically related political philosophies or political ideologies. ...

Advocates of such amendments state that they are needed in light of the legalization of same-sex marriage in other countries, notably Canada, and the order of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ordering it to be legalized within Massachusetts based on that state's constitutional "equal protection" clause. Some advocates say that the "full faith and credit clause", requiring each state to recognize the actions of others, such as marriage, means that this ruling has essentially legalized same-sex marriage throughout the country, as those who were legally recognized as married in Masschusetts would not become otherwise merely by relocating to another state. (An analogy may be seen in divorces. A former resident of Alabama who moves to Nevada and subsequently is granted a divorce there does not suddenly become married again if they later return to or visit Alabama, even if the Nevada divorce was granted under conditions or grounds that would not have been permissible in Alabama.) Some opponents of such amendments state that "full faith and credit" obviates the effect of such amendments and notes that state laws declaring federal supremacy to be void are in themselves void. See Nullification Crisis The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is the highest court in the United States commonwealth of Massachusetts. ... State nickname: Bay State Official languages English Capital Boston Largest city Boston Governor Mitt Romney (R) Senators Edward Kennedy (D), John Kerry (D) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 44th 27,360 km² 25. ... Divorce or dissolution of marriage is the ending of a marriage before the death of either spouse, which can be contrasted with an annulment which is a declaration that a marriage is void, though the effects of marriage may be recognized in such unions, such as spousal support, child custody... State nickname: Camellia State, The Heart of Dixie¹, Yellowhammer State Official languages English Capital Montgomery Largest city Birmingham Governor Bob Riley (R) Senators Richard Shelby (R) Jeff Sessions (R) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 30th 52,423 mi²/135,775 km² 3. ... State nickname: Silver State, Battle Born State (official) Official languages None Capital Carson City Largest city Las Vegas Governor Kenny Guinn (R) Senators Harry Reid (D) John Ensign (R) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 7th 286,367 km² 0. ... In the United States, the Nullification Crisis was a sectional crisis during the presidency of Andrew Jackson over the issue of protective tariffs. ...

Some amendments and some proposed amendments go farther and forbid a state from recongizing even non-marital civil unions while others explicitly allow for this. Many such amendments were adopted in the November 2004 election and more are pending. The failure of United States Congress to pass the "Federal Marriage Amendment" has apparently led more impetus to this movement. A civil union is one of several terms for a civil status similar to marriage, typically created for the purposes of allowing same-sex couples access to the benefits enjoyed by married opposite-sex peoples (see also same-sex marriage); it can also be used by opposite-sex couples who... November 2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December See also: November 2004 in sports November 2004 in science Events Deaths in November • 30 Pierre Berton • 29 John Drew Barrymore • 26 Bill Alley • 24 Arthur Hailey • 23 Rafael Eitan • 18 Bobby Frank Cherry • 16 John... Congress in Joint Session. ... The Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA) is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution which would define marriage in the United States as a union of one man and one woman. ...