2006 Virginia Question 1, the Marshall-Newman Amendment (also referred to as the Virginia Marriage Amendment) is an

amendment An amendment is a formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or other legal document. It is based on the verb to amend, which means to change for better. Amendments can add, remove, or update parts of these agreements. They ...

to the

Constitution of Virginia The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the document that defines and limits the powers of the state government and the basic rights of the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Like all other state constitutions, it is supreme ...

that defines marriage as solely between one man and one woman and bans recognition of any legal status "approximat ngthe design, qualities, significance, or effects of marriage". The amendment was ratified by 57% of the voters on November 7, 2006. It became part of the state Constitution as Section 15-A of Article 1. In 2014, the amendment was ruled unconstitutional in ''

Bostic v. Schaefer ''Bostic v. Schaefer'' (formerly ''Bostic v. McDonnell'' and ''Bostic v. Rainey'') is a lawsuit filed in federal court in July 2013 that challenged Virginia's refusal to sanction same-sex marriages. The plaintiffs won in U.S. district court in Fe ...

''.

Text

The text of the amendment states:

''Only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by this Commonwealth and its political subdivisions. This Commonwealth and its political subdivisions shall not create or recognize a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance, or effects of marriage. Nor shall this Commonwealth or its political subdivisions create or recognize another union, partnership, or other legal status to which is assigned the rights, benefits, obligations, qualities, or effects of marriage.''

Enactment

Legislative process

The Virginia Constitution requires amendments to be passed in two different sessions separated by a general election. The amendment, named after Delegate Bob Marshall and Senator Stephen Newman, was approved by the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

in the 2005 and 2006 sessions, which were separated by the November 2005 general election. It was thus put on the November 2006 election ballot for approval by voters.

Voting results

Criticism

The far-reaching nature of the Marshall-Newman Amendment intended to reinforce its Marriage Affirmation Act has attracted criticism. Writing in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'',

Jonathan Rauch Jonathan Charles Rauch (; born April 26, 1960) is an American author, journalist, and activist. After graduating from Yale University, Rauch worked at the ''Winston-Salem Journal'' in North Carolina, for ''National Journal'', and later for ''The ...

argued that:

Virginia appears to abridge gay individuals' right to enter into private contracts with each other. On its face, the law could interfere with wills, medical directives, powers of attorney, child custody and property arrangements, even perhaps joint bank accounts. If a gay Californian was hit by a bus in Arlington, her medical power of attorney might be worthless there.

Virginia Attorney General The attorney general of Virginia is an elected constitutional position that holds an executive office in the government of Virginia. Attorneys general are elected for a four-year term in the year following a presidential election. There are no ter ...

Bob McDonnell Robert Francis McDonnell (born June 15, 1954) is an American attorney, businessman, politician, and former military officer who served as the 71st governor of Virginia from 2010 to 2014. His career ended after his corruption scandal and convic ...

issued a 2006 opinion stating that the amendment does not change the legal status of documents such as contracts, wills, or

advance health care directive Advance commonly refers to: *Advance, an offensive push in sports, games, thoughts, military combat, or sexual or romantic pursuits *Advance payment for goods or services *Advance against royalties, a payment to be offset against future royalty pay ...

s between unmarried people.

Ruling of unconstitutionality

On February 13, 2014, U.S. District Judge

Arenda Wright Allen Arenda Lauretta Wright Allen (born December 9, 1960) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. She formerly worked as an Assistant United States Attorney and a Federal Public Def ...

ruled that the amendment was unconstitutional, and ordered Virginia not to enforce it against same-sex couples. In her opinion, Judge Allen granted a stay pending appeal. On February 13, 2014, a U.S. District Court in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

ruled that the amendment was unconstitutional in the case ''

'', though the Judge stayed her ruling pending appeal. On July 28, 2014, the

Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Maryland ...

issued a 2–1 opinion upholding the lower court's decision, although this was also appealed. On October 6, 2014, the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

denied a

writ of certiorari In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of an English prerogative writ, issued by a superior court to direct that the record of ...

and thus let the Fourth Circuit Court's decision stand, which legalized

same-sex marriage in Virginia Same-sex marriage in Virginia has been legal since October 6, 2014, following the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court not to hear an appeal of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling in ''Bostic v. Schaefer''. Same-sex marriages subsequently be ...

. Since the Supreme Court's decision in ''

Obergefell v. Hodges ''Obergefell v. Hodges'', ( ), is a landmark LGBT rights case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protect ...

'' on June 26, 2015, all such bans throughout the United States are unconstitutional.

Repeal attempts

Although the amendment is unconstitutional and unenforceable since 2014, it remains part of the Virginia Constitution. Legislators, including State Senator

Adam Ebbin Adam Paul Ebbin (born November 10, 1963) is an American politician who is the senator from the 30th District of the Virginia Senate since January 2012. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the Delegate from the 49th District of the Virginia ...

(D) and Delegate

Mark Sickles Mark D. Sickles (born February 18, 1957) is an American politician serving as the Virginia House of Delegates, Delegate from the Virginia's 43rd House of Delegates district, 43rd District of the Virginia House of Delegates since 2004. He is a memb ...

(D), have introduced bills in 2015 and 2016 aiming to repeal the amendment. Ebbin prefiled another bill to repeal the amendment on November 18, 2019, which the Senate voted to continue in 2021.

References

{{Same-sex unions in the United States

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

Virginia law Virginia Question 1 Legal history of Virginia Virginia Question 1 Question 1 Discrimination against LGBT people in the United States