WASHINGTON (WJHL) — U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine on Monday sent a letter to the Virginia General Assembly, urging lawmakers to repeal a ban on same-sex marriage in the Commonwealth.
A release by Warner and Kaine says the letter encourages the General Assembly to protect marriage equality and repeal a constitutional amendment passed in 2006, banning same-sex marriage in Virginia.
This amendment was overridden in 2015 with the Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges to require all U.S. states to recognize same-sex marriages.
“It is long past time that Virginia’s governing document conveys to same-sex marriages the same freedoms, rights, and responsibilities that are afforded to all other constitutional marriages,” the letter states. “We urge you to work with your colleagues to advance legislation for a referendum that would fully protect Virginia’s LGBTQ couples.”
The constitutional amendment was on track to being repealed last year, the release said. In the 2022 General Assembly session, the Virginia Senate passed a bill to repeal the ban, however, it failed to get the votes once it went to the House of Delegates, restarting the process.
“If Obergefell is overturned, then LGBTQ Virginians will likely lose the right to marry the person they love unless the General Assembly repeals the ban in Virginia’s constitution,” the letter states.
The full release and letter can be viewed on Warner and Kaine’s official websites.
