Same-sex marriage in Virginia

On January 14, 2014, a U.S. district court judge ruled in Bostic that Virginia's statutory and constitutional bans on the state recognition of same-sex marriages were unconstitutional, a decision upheld by the Fourth Circuit on July 28, 2014.

On February 19, the Virginia House of Delegates approved the bill, by an 81–8 vote, and on March 15, Governor George Allen signed the legislation into law, which took effect on July 1.

Governor Mark Warner issued a formal recommendation to the General Assembly to remove the provisions prohibiting partnership contracts.

On January 28, 2020, the House of Delegates approved a bill (HB 1490),[16] introduced by Nancy Guy, repealing provisions of the Code of Virginia that banned same-sex marriage and civil unions, in a 63–34 vote.

A 2021 poll from the Public Religion Research Institute showed that 71% of Virginians supported same-sex marriage,[3] and most analysts expected the measure to pass conformably had it been placed on the ballot.

Chris Head, the chairman of the subcommittee that blocked the amendment, said the measure might have passed had it been a "clean" repeal bill that did not seek to replace the ban with affirmative language declaring marriage a right.

Anderson, who had voted against repealing the same-sex marriage ban in the past, said, "Fundamentally, it does not change anything about Virginia law, because the U.S. Supreme Court has already declared this provision of our constitution unconstitutional.

[…] I think you'll see most of the people that think like me in the General Assembly, the conservatives, that had a concern with the Democrat language last year, are going to support this clean version of just a straight repeal."

In January 2014, Attorney General Mark Herring and Governor Terry McAuliffe announced their support for the suit, and said they would not defend the state ban.

[40][41] On February 3, 2014, the House of Delegates voted 65–32 in favor of a bill giving the Virginia General Assembly the right to defend a provision of the Virginia Constitution that is contested or constitutionality questioned if the Governor or Attorney General choose not to defend the law, but the State Senate Committee on Rules voted 12–4 in favor of it being passed by indefinitely in rules on February 21, which effectively killed the bill for that legislative session.

[42] Judge Arenda Wright Allen heard oral arguments on February 4, 2014, with attorneys for the Norfolk Clerk of Circuit Court, George Schaefer, defending the state's ban on same-sex marriage.

[43] On February 13, 2014, Judge Wright Allen ruled that Virginia's statutory and constitutional ban on same-sex marriage violated the U.S.

Wright Allen wrote in her ruling: Our nation's uneven but dogged journey toward truer and more meaningful freedoms for our citizens has brought us continually to a deeper understanding of the first three words in our constitution: we the people.

[45] On July 28, a three-judge panel of the Fourth Circuit, composed of Judges Roger Gregory, Paul V. Niemeyer, and Henry F. Floyd, ruled 2–1 in favor of striking down Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage.

It allows individuals to celebrate and publicly declare their intentions to form lifelong partnerships, which provide unparalleled intimacy, companionship, emotional support, and security.

[48] On October 6, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Virginia's appeal in brief, allowing the Fourth Circuit to immediately lift the stay of the ruling.

[49][50] Dawn Turton and Beth Trent were the first couple to be issued a marriage license in Alexandria,[51] and Catherine Gillespie and Andre Hakes were the first in Charlottesville.

Going forward we will act quickly to continue to bring all of our policies and practices into compliance so that we can give marriages between same-sex partners the full faith and credit they deserve.

[..] Equality for all men and women regardless of their race, color, creed or sexual orientation is intrinsic to the values that make us Virginians, and now it is officially inscribed in our laws as well."

Chad Griffin, the president of the Human Rights Campaign, said, "Any time same-sex couples are extended, marriage equality is something to celebrate.

House Speaker William J. Howell said he was "disappointed", and Representative Bob Marshall, one of the authors of the 2006 constitutional same-sex marriage ban, stated, "Make no mistake.

"[53] The Supreme Court also denied certiorari petitions in cases from Indiana, Wisconsin, Oklahoma and Utah that same day, legalizing same-sex marriage in those states.

[54] On December 23, Judge Michael F. Urbanski removed Governor McAuliffe as a defendant, leaving the State Registrar of Vital Records, Janet Rainey, and the Staunton clerk who denied a license to one of the couples.

[57] The Fourth Circuit allowed the parties in Harris to intervene in the Bostic appeal and file briefs, and on July 28, 2014 ruled against Virginia's same-sex marriage ban.

On October 29, the plaintiffs asked the district court to enter judgment in their favor, while the defendants filed motions to dismiss the case as moot in light of Bostic and the legalization of same-sex marriage in Virginia.

Under state law, alimony payments can be stopped if the payee remarries or has been "habitually cohabitating with another person in a relationship analogous to a marriage" for at least a year.

"The court made the correct ruling in this case, which is to recognize that all laws regarding marriage must be applied equally regardless of the gender of the individuals involved.

While there are no records of same-sex marriages as understood from a Western perspective being performed in Native American cultures, there is evidence for identities and behaviours that may be placed on the LGBT spectrum.

Many of these cultures recognized two-spirit individuals who were born male but wore women's clothing and performed everyday household work and artistic handiwork which were regarded as belonging to the feminine sphere.

[70] The Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and TargetPoint Consulting poll conducted in June 2013 found that 55% of Virginians supported same-sex marriage.