Marriage equality is the law of the land, sure, but, take nothing for granted

It’s already the settled law of the land, marriage equality, but Virginia still has embedded in its state constitution, thanks to the politics of 2006, a provision narrowly defining marriage as being between one man and one woman.

The push for that constitutional amendment was done to get George Allen smooth sailing for re-election to the U.S. Senate and a run at the Republican presidential nomination in the 2008 cycle.

Remember ol’ George, who screwed himself out of a future in politics by using the word “macaca,” a racial slur of apparent French African origin, to refer to a Democratic operative attending one of his campaign events?

Seriously, that’s why we had that marriage amendment vote in 2006 – to help ol’ George Allen, who went on to lose his 2006 U.S. Senate race to Jim Webb, and never did run for president.

The U.S. Supreme Court rendered the amendment moot in a 2015 ruling affirming the right of same-sex couples to marry, but we still have the law on our books.

Which is why we’re gearing up for another vote in the 2026 cycle, to add a fresh amendment to the Virginia Constitution affirming the right of same-sex couples to marry.

 

“This amendment is deeply important to me as a Virginia voter and deeply personal to me as a married woman,” said Narissa Rahaman, executive director of Equality Virginia, who is also affiliated with Virginians for Marriage Equality, which on Monday launched its statewide campaign to pass the constitutional amendment to protect the freedom to marry on the ballot in the 2026 general election in Virginia.

“Over the next five months, Virginians for Marriage Equality will ask Virginia voters to have conversations with their friends, families and neighbors – at kitchen tables, in living rooms, on front porches – about the things that matter most to us as Virginians: our freedoms and our values,” Rahaman said.

As if Democrats need any more reason to get out and vote in November, right?

We just passed the 10-1 congressional redistricting in an April referendum that a 4-3 MAGA majority on the Supreme Court of Virginia declared null and void, which, all that did was piss us off, make us want to vote harder, and somesuch.

And now we have this with a new, fresh marriage amendment, and also, a second referendum to protect women’s rights to reproductive freedoms.

A third referendum on the ballot would automatically restore voting rights to Virginians convicted of felonies after their release from incarceration.

Get out the vote, indeed.

The 2006 state marriage amendment is unconstitutional and unenforceable, but that said, the Trump Court did what it did to Roe v. Wade in 2022, so, take nothing for granted.

“Marriage equality is what allows families like ours to navigate health care, school enrollment, parenting, caregiving, and all the ordinary parts of life that comes with making a home together,” said Chad Stewart, who spoke alongside his husband, Blake McDonald, and their daughter at a launch event on Monday.

“No Virginia family should have to live under a cloud of uncertainty about whether their marriage and family will continue to be recognized and protected,” Stewart said.

“This amendment is about making clear that the government has no business deciding which marriages or which families are worthy of recognition,”  ACLU of Virginia Executive Director Mary Bauer said. “The ACLU of Virginia has been fighting for Virginians’ right to marry who they love since the landmark case, Loving v. Virginia, which struck down the ban on interracial marriage. Now we are proud to carry that legacy forward by standing with our coalition partners in the fight to pass this amendment and finally enshrine the right to marriage equality in the Commonwealth’s constitution.”

“My own husband, Jason, and I have built a life together here in Virginia, just like thousands of other couples and families across the Commonwealth,” said State Del. R. Kirk McPike, the co-chair of Virginians for Marriage Equality. “Over the coming months, Virginians for Marriage Equality will be showing up in communities across the Commonwealth working hard to have conversations with voters from every corner of Virginia. Every Virginian has a place in this campaign and a place in this Commonwealth.”