direction of the U.S. Supreme Court. As a result of this ruling, I will direct all state agencies to comply with the decision." Attorney General Rutledge said she was "disappointed" but "[t]he justices have issued a decision, and that decision must be followed." Rutledge instructed state agencies and county clerks to comply with the Supreme Court ruling. State tax authorities began allowing married same-sex couples to submit joint tax returns, and government employers that allow spouses of married employees to enroll in employee benefits programs, such as health insurance, began allowing the same-sex spouses of employees to enroll as well. County clerks began issuing marriage licenses to all couples regardless of gender. Developments after legalization On February 2, 2017, a resolution calling on the United States Congress to pass a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage was introduced to the Arkansas General Assembly. It was sponsored by 21 lawmakers, all members of the Republican Party. On February 20, the Arkansas Senate rejected the resolution in a 17–7 vote. The resolution needed 18 votes to pass and thus failed by one vote. However, that same day, the vote was expunged and the Senate re-voted on February 28; this time passing it by 18 votes to 9. On March 8, a House subcommittee recommended the Arkansas House of Representatives to approve the resolution. On March 14, the House rejected it in a 29–41 vote. Of those who voted in favor, all 29 were Republicans. Of those who voted against, 20 were Democrats and 21 were Republicans. On March 6, 2017, Representative Stephen Meeks introduced a bill to the General Assembly to reenact the state's same-sex marriage ban. The bill would have thus been in violation of Obergefell v. Hodges and the U.S. Constitution. It was withdrawn by Meeks on March 14. Demographics and marriage statistics Data from the 2000 U.S. census showed that 4,423 same-sex couples were living in Arkansas. By 2005, this had increased to 5,890 couples, likely attributed to same-sex couples' growing willingness to disclose their partnerships on government surveys. Same-sex couples lived in all counties of the state, and constituted 0.7% of coupled households and 0.4% of all households in the state. Most couples lived in Pulaski, Washington and Benton counties, but the counties with the highest percentage of same-sex couples were Carroll (0.77% of all county households) and Madison (0.59%). Same-sex partners in Arkansas were on average younger