---
title: SR 167. Recognition of Marriage; only the union of man and woman; repeal -CA
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sr167
cite_as: SR 167, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr167
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr167.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr167/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70173
date: 2025-02-11
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 95
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr167.md?full=1
bill_number: SR 167
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: resolution
status_date: 2025-02-10
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
- RaShaun Kemp
- Kim Jackson
- Harold Jones
- Elena Parent
- Kenya Wicks
- Gail Davenport
- Sonya Halpern
- Donzella James
- Michael Rhett
- Jason Esteves
- Nabilah Islam Parkes
- Derek Mallow
- Nikki Merritt
- Nan Orrock
- Ed Harbison
- Sheikh Rahman
- Sally Harrell
- Randal Mangham
- Josh McLaurin
- David Lucas
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SR167/2025
upstream_id: 1964640
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- same-sex marriage
- constitutional amendment
- marriage law
- Georgia Constitution
- interracial marriage
---
# SR 167. Recognition of Marriage; only the union of man and woman; repeal -CA
## Text
Senate Resolution 167
By: Senators Kemp of the 38th, Jackson of the 41st, Jones II of the 22nd, Parent of the 44th,
Wicks of the 34th and others
A RESOLUTION
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution so as to repeal the recognition of marriage as
only the union of man and woman; to provide for related matters; to provide for the
submission of this amendment for ratification or rejection; and for other purposes.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article I of the Constitution is amended by repealing Section IV in its entirety and enacting
a new Section IV to read as follows:
"SECTION IV.
MARRIAGE
Paragraph I. Recognition of marriage. (a) This state shall recognize as marriage any
union between two persons legally authorized to marry, regardless of race, gender, or
biological sex, who are of sound mind, who have no living spouse from a previously
undissolved marriage, and who are not related to their prospective spouse by blood or
marriage within the prohibited degrees.
(b) This state shall give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any
other state or jurisdiction respecting a relationship between interracial persons or persons
of the same gender or biological sex that is treated as a marriage under the laws of such
other state or jurisdiction. The courts of this state shall have jurisdiction to grant a divorce
or separate maintenance and to consider or rule on any of the parties' respective rights
arising from interracial or same-sex marriage unions."
SECTION 2.
The above proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be published and submitted as
provided in Article X, Section I, Paragraph II of the Constitution. The ballot submitting the
above proposed amendment shall have written or printed thereon the following:
"( ) YES Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to recognize marriage
( ) NO as any union between two persons authorized to marry under Georgia law
regardless of race, gender, or biological sex?"
All persons desiring to vote in favor of ratifying the proposed amendment shall vote "Yes."
All persons desiring to vote against ratifying the proposed amendment shall vote "No." If
such amendment shall be ratified as provided in said Paragraph of the Constitution, it shall
become a part of the Constitution of this state.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary.
A Georgia Senate resolution would ask voters to remove the state constitution's definition of marriage as only between a man and a woman, replacing it with recognition of marriage between any two people regardless of race, gender, or biological sex.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia's Constitution currently limits recognized marriage to unions between a man and a woman. This resolution proposes repealing that section and replacing it with new language recognizing marriage as any union between two persons legally authorized to marry, regardless of race, gender, or biological sex, as long as both are of sound mind, have no living spouse from an undissolved prior marriage, and are not related within prohibited degrees.
The new language would also require Georgia to recognize marriages from other states or jurisdictions involving interracial couples or same-sex couples, and would give Georgia courts jurisdiction to handle divorce and related matters for those marriages. Because this is a constitutional amendment, it cannot take effect on its own. It must first be submitted to Georgia voters in a statewide referendum, with a specific yes-or-no ballot question written into the resolution, before it could become part of the state Constitution.
### What it does
- Repeals the existing constitutional section defining marriage as only between a man and a woman and enacts a replacement section.
- Recognizes marriage as any union between two legally authorized persons regardless of race, gender, or biological sex, subject to conditions like being of sound mind and not having a living spouse from an undissolved marriage.
- Requires Georgia to recognize marriages of interracial or same-sex couples validly performed in other states or jurisdictions.
- Gives Georgia courts jurisdiction to grant divorce or separate maintenance and rule on rights arising from interracial or same-sex marriages.
- Sends the proposed constitutional amendment to Georgia voters for ratification or rejection via a specific ballot question.
### Who it affects
Same-sex couples and interracial couples seeking marriage recognition in Georgia, Georgia courts handling divorce and marital disputes, county officials who issue marriage licenses, and all Georgia voters, who would decide the amendment's fate at the ballot box.
### Why it matters
If ratified by voters, this would change Georgia's founding legal document to recognize same-sex and interracial marriages regardless of the current constitutional language limiting marriage to a man and a woman, affecting who can marry and how courts handle related legal matters like divorce.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 repeals Article I, Section IV of the Georgia Constitution in its entirety and enacts a new Section IV.
- Paragraph I(a) defines recognized marriage as a union between two legally authorized persons regardless of race, gender, or biological sex, with conditions on soundness of mind, prior undissolved marriages, and prohibited degrees of relation.
- Paragraph I(b) requires Georgia to give legal effect to marriages of interracial or same-sex couples performed in other states, and grants Georgia courts jurisdiction over divorce and related rights for those marriages.
- Section 2 requires the amendment be submitted to voters with a specified ballot question, and states it becomes part of the Constitution only if ratified.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-02-10)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2025-02-11)
- Sponsors: RaShaun Kemp, Kim Jackson, Harold Jones, Elena Parent, Kenya Wicks, Gail Davenport, Sonya Halpern, Donzella James, Michael Rhett, Jason Esteves, Nabilah Islam Parkes, Derek Mallow, Nikki Merritt, Nan Orrock, Ed Harbison, Sheikh Rahman, Sally Harrell, Randal Mangham, Josh McLaurin, David Lucas
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70173
> The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr167.md?full=1