WASHINGTON – Ballot measures to modify state constitutions and protect same-sex marriage have been passed by voters in three states.

Same-sex marriage is now legal nationwide and in the District of Columbia, thanks to the historic Supreme Court ruling Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015.

However, following concerns about the Supreme Court’s stance after the reversing of Roe v. Wade in 2022, activists have opted for proactive strategies at the polls this year.

In California, voters decided on a measure to repeal a prior proposition that defined marriage as a union strictly between a man and a woman. This new measure would establish the right to marry as a constitutional right.

Colorado presented similar measures aimed at eliminating outdated language in its Constitution that bans same-sex marriage.

Additionally, voters in Hawaii approved a measure that will amend the state Constitution to revoke the legislature’s power to limit marriage to opposite-sex couples.

Before gay marriage was legalized across the nation, initiatives to allow it began in the 1990s, according to the Human Rights Campaign, an advocacy organization for LGBTQ rights. The 2015 Supreme Court ruling eliminated same-sex marriage bans in 13 states.

Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan expressed concern in a September interview with the New York Times about potential threats to gay marriage and contraception following the overturn of Roe v. Wade.