WASHINGTON – Voters in three states have approved ballot measures that would amend their states’ Constitution to protect same-sex marriage.

Same-sex marriage is now available in all states and the District of Columbia following the landmark 2015 Obergefell v. It is legal by Hodges decision.

But in 2022, Roe v. Activists concerned about the power of the Supreme Court after the dismissal of the Wade case took proactive measures at the polls this year.

in california, voters weighed in on a measure This would repeal an earlier proposal that defined marriage as the union between a man and a woman. The fundamental right to marry will be recognized in the Constitution.

In Colorado, similar measures are on the ballot aimed at repealing outdated language in the state Constitution banning same-sex marriage.

And voters in Hawaii I passed a measure It would amend the state Constitution to repeal the legislature’s authority to “reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples.”

Before same-sex marriage was legalized nationally, efforts to legalize the practice emerged in the 1990s. Human Rights Campaignan LGBTQ advocacy group. However, the ruling in 2015 banned same-sex marriage Banned in 13 states.

Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan He warned in an interview with the New York Times in September Roe v. He thinks gay marriage and birth control are under threat after the Wade decision.

This article first appeared on USA TODAY: Three states pass ballot initiatives to protect same-sex marriage