The state senate in North Dakota has rejected a resolution which would have asked the US Supreme Court to overturn its historic ruling on gay marriage.

The Republican-sponsored resolution moved to the Senate after it was passed by 52 votes to 40 in the North Dakota House of Representatives back in February.

It described the 2015 ruling in Obergefell vs Hodges – which legalised same-sex marriage across the US – a “flawed… illegitimate overreach [which] arbitrarily and unjustly rejected the definition of marriage” and wanted the Supreme Court to “restore the definition of marriage to a union between one man and one woman”.

Following around 10 minutes of debate by lawmakers, it was defeated in a 16-31 Senate vote with members of the public watching the proceedings in the gallery cheering when it failed.

More than 300 people had submitted testimony evidence to lawmakers in regards to the resolution, with a number citing how it made them feel as LGBTQ+ people living in the state.

Laura Balliet, a state worker, said when lawmakers table resolutions such as this she is forced to ask herself: “Why am I staying here?”

“I do not feel wanted here. I don’t feel welcome. I feel like I’m being judged because of who I am,” she said.

Democrat Josh Boschee who opposed the measure said, as quoted by the Associated Press: “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.”

In a video posted on his Instagram, Boschee apologises to LGBTQ+ North Dakotans who “had been put through the ringer on this one”, adding: “Know, again, if had passed or not, it did nothing to invalidate your marriage or your relationship but it certainly sends a signal to North Dakotans and I am proud that the Senate – a vast majority of us – defeated the resolution.”

By contrast, GOP lawmaker David Clemens said the North Dakota Constitution recognises marriage as between a man and a woman and insisted he took an oath to uphold the document to that effect.

The resolution had been sponsored by Republican Bill Tveit, who said marriage was always defined as between a man and a woman until same-sex marriage was introduced.

“It’s past time for North Dakota citizens to speak their displeasure with the Supreme Court decision and call for a restoration of the definition of marriage as only the legal union between a man and a woman,” he said.

“Two cannot conceive and birth a child except for the coming together of a female and a male. You cannot have a country without children.”

He added if “same-sex couples desire a collaborative union of a sort, or a legal bonding, they must call it anything but marriage”.

The resolution read: “The 69th Legislative Assembly rejects the United States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell vs Hodges and urges the Supreme Court to overturn the decision and leave unaddressed the natural definition of marriage as a union between one man, a biological male, and one woman, a biological female.”

A poll conducted by the North Dakota News Cooperative prior to the Senate vote found that 56 per cent of North Dakota residents surveyed disapproved of the resolution, with 36 per cent in favour of it.

North Dakota has not been the only state to table measures and resolutions seeking to overturn same-sex marriage, with other states are Idaho, Michigan, Montana, and South Dakota.

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