My husband and I got married in 2014 in the District of Columbia before same sex marriage became legal in Virginia. Since the reversal of Roe by the extremist majority on the U.S. Supreme Court, many gay Virginians have feared that the Obergefell ruling striking down bans on same sex marriage could suffer a similar fate, throwing thousands of marriages in limbo at best. To address this concern and also to protect abortion rights and restore voting rights, three constitutional amendments were on the ballot. Amendment 2 which repealed the 2006 ban on same sex marriages and added guaranties to protect same sex marriages passed with over 57% of the votes cast. A piece in the Virginia Mercury looks at these constitutional amendments. Here are excerpts:
On Election Day, Virginians approved three amendments to enshrine reproductive, marriage and voting rights for former felons into the state’s constitution, the culmination of a multi-year journey through the state legislature galvanized by lawmakers, advocates and major federal shifts.
Over 61% of voters answered yes to Ballot Question 1 as of 10 p.m. Tuesday, according to unofficial results from the Virginia Department of Elections. It asked if access to contraception, fertility treatment and abortions should be protected.
On Ballot Question 2, which asked if a defunct ban on same-sex marriage should be removed from the constitution, 56% of voters replied affirmatively.
The third ballot question asked whether the voting rights restoration process for formerly incarcerated people should become automatic or remain petition-based. 55% of voters said yes.
The second amendment voters approved will lift a technical ban on gay marriage and affirm “that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, or race.” These unions must receive equal protection under the law.
Since 2006, Virginia has technically banned gay marriage.
The prohibition has been rendered moot since the Supreme Court ruled on Obergefell v. Hodges, which has upheld such unions nationally since 2015.
But after federal abortion protections were removed by the Supreme Court, Virginia lawmakers set to work enshrining state-level protections moving forward.
“Tonight’s victory belongs to generations of Virginians who organized, advocated and fought for equality, often without knowing whether they would live to see this day,” said Narissa Rahaman, Executive Director at Equality Virginia.
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