2026 Virginia Repeal Same-Sex Marriage Ban Amendment

Interracial marriage

Following the U.S. Supreme Court striking down Virginia's ban on interracial marriage in Loving v. Virginia in 1967, the General Assembly repealed the remainder of the Racial Integrity Act in 1975, as well as the Sterilization Act in 1979. In 2019, a Virginia law that required partners to declare their race on marriage applications was challenged in court.^[1] Within a week the state's attorney-general directed that the question is to become optional,^[2] and in October 2019, a U.S. District judge ruled the practice unconstitutional and barred Virginia from enforcing the requirement.^[3] On March 10, 2020, SB 62 was signed into law to repeal the requirement.^[4]

Same-sex marriage

In 2006, voters agreed to ban same-sex marriage and any legal status that "approximates the design, qualities, significance, or effects of marriage".^[5] However, in 2014, in Bostic v. Schaefer, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit found the amendment to be in violation of the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment, thereby making it unenforceable.^[6] In 2020, two bills (HB 1490 and SB 17) were signed into law, repealing provisions of the Code of Virginia that banned same-sex marriage and civil unions.^[7] In 2024, HB 174, which affirms the right of same-sex couples to marry and allows clergy to refuse to wed couples, was signed into law.^[8][9]

The push to repeal the defunct and unenforceable language in the state constitution followed Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas's opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the case overturning the constitutionally recognized right to abortion, where he argued that Obergefell v. Hodges, which found that same-sex couples have a fundamental right to marry, should be overturned.^[10] It also followed Nevada in 2020 repealing its defunct ban, and California, Colorado, and Hawaii repealing their bans in 2024.^[11][12]

Legislation for the amendment

In Virginia, constitutional amendments require approval in two legislative sessions before they can go before voters.^[13]

Ballot wording

On Election Day, the following will be displayed for voters for the referendum:^[23]

Question: Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to: (i) remove the ban on same-sex marriage; (ii) affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, or race; and (iii) require all legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law?

Constitutional changes

If agreed to by voters, Section 15-A of Article I of the Constitution of Virginia will be amended as follows:^[24]

Section 15-A. Marriage.

That only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by this Commonwealth and its political subdivisions marriage is one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness.

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 deny the issuance of a marriage license to two adult persons seeking a lawful marriage on the basis of the sex, gender, or race of such persons. 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. This Commonwealth and its political subdivisions shall recognize any lawful marriage between two adult persons and treat such marriages equally under the law, regardless of the sex, gender, or race of such persons.