HB 751 and the "Marriage Amendment"

Title: HB 751 Date: June 30, 2004 Credit: Jay Squires Length: 4:32 Synopsis: The Virginia Affirmation of Marriage Act, HB751, was passed by the 2004 General Assembly. The law took effect on July 1, 2004. One commenter noted "nothing so homophobic has ever been enacted into law in this nation's history." To document our community's outrage, Equality Virginia organized a rally in Capitol Square attended by hundreds.

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In 2004 and 2006, the legislature and then the citizens of Virginia, put into place an amendment of the Virginia defense of marriage act and an amendment to the Bill of Rights to the constitution, instituting discrimination. The arguments against the bills were many

• It goes too far, denying legal recognition for ALL unmarried couples
• It can be used by the courts to bar enforcement of domestic violence laws against unmarried partners
• It can be used by opposing factions in families seeking to deny unmarried partners of loved ones the right to hospital visitation, to decide about organ donation or burial or the determine the guardianship of children or property rights
• It can be grounds to sue a business for offering domestic partnership benefits of health insurance to anyone other that "immediate family members"
• It can be used to prohibit LGBTQ affirming congregtions from celebrating marriages or unions consistent with their faith traditions
• It can be used to deny unmarried partners access to courts to enforce custody, property and other arrangements essential to providing stability for a relationship and a family

These are just a few of the arguments against both the bill and the constitutional amendment, there are plenty more... VoteNoVA blog

Jay Squires, Chair of Equality Virginia and the Commonwealth Coalition, traveled the state in the NoMobile rallying opposition to the Marshall-Newman Amendment. Today Squires is President and CEO of the Gay Community Center of Richmond. (DA)

What were the arguments for the amendment? Although there was a law already prohibiting same-sex marriage, the possibility that same-sex marriage would invade the state, destroying the sacred institution of marriage, corrupting the school children and underming the very foundation of society as we know it seemed to be the basic argument, usually pointing to marriage as a sacred sacrament ordained by God... OK, I think we've heard all the arguments...

Virginia's constitutional amendment is one of the most restrictive in the United States, denying the creation or recognition of a legal status that "intends to approximate marriage..." and denies recognition of "another union, partnership or other legal status to which is assigned the rights, benefits, obligations, qualitie or effects of marriage."

There has been much debate about how far this can be taken legally. Are contracts legal between people that set up custody/guardianship agreements? How about property agreements? Wills? There has been no challenge to the amendment in court yet, no test case, but all it could take is one judge who believes that being gay is wrong, illegal, immoral, etc... to destroy all the provisions that a couple has made...

In 2004, the legislsture of Virginia passed HB751, the Affirmation of Marriage Act. The text follows.

HOUSE BILL NO. 751

AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE

(Proposed by the Senate Committee for Courts of Justice on March 8, 2004)

(Patron Prior to Substitute--Delegate R. G. Marshall)

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 20-45.3, relating to the Affirmation of Marriage Act for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. § 20-45.3. Civil unions between persons of same sex.

A civil union, partnership contract or other arrangement between persons of the same sex purporting to bestow the privileges or obligations of marriage is prohibited. Any such civil union, partnership contract or other arrangement entered into by persons of the same sex in another state or jurisdiction shall be void in all respects in Virginia and any contractual rights created thereby shall be void and unenforceable.

In 2006, the citizens of Virginia passed Ballot Amendment 1, amending Article 1 of the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of Virginia. The Text follows:

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.

There was a strong coalition of groups and individuals that stood up to fight for LGBTQ Virginians, against the Marshall-Newman Amendment. The goal was to advocate and find 1 million voters in Virginia who would stand up against this onerous addition to the state's constitution; historically $1 million votes would have been enough to win a ballot question. Unfortunately, the voters came to the polls in much larger numbers and the ballot amendment was passed by a 57%/43% margin; the Coalition did activate and win the votes of just shy of 1 million votes, the "No" vote equalled 999,687.

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