Virginia voters will face a constitutional question on marriage when they go to the polls this November

This is the second in a three part series about the constitutional amendments on the ballot in Virginia in the November election.

A proposed Virginia constitutional amendment would remove Virginia’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and replace it with a constitutional right to marry for two adults.

The amendment would specify that two adults may marry regardless of their sex, gender or race. It would also require the Commonwealth to recognize and treat all legally valid marriages equally under Virginia law.

The amendment would also prohibit the state from denying a marriage license to two adults because of their sex, gender or race.

Supporters say the change would bring Virginia’s Constitution in line with current law and protect marriage equality as a matter of state constitutional rights.

But there is an important distinction between what Virginia’s Constitution currently says and what is actually enforceable.

Virginia’s Constitution still contains language prohibiting same-sex marriage. However, that provision has been unenforceable since the U-S Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Obergefell versus Hodges, which established a constitutional right to same-sex marriage nationwide.

The Virginia Elections Department says that if the Supreme Court were ever to overturn that precedent, the existing language in Virginia’s Constitution could once again become enforceable.

The proposed amendment is designed to remove that language altogether.

A YES vote would replace the existing prohibition with an explicit constitutional right for two adults to marry, regardless of sex, gender or race.

A NO vote would leave the existing constitutional language in place, even though it is currently unenforceable.

The amendment will be on the November third general election ballot and

would take effect January first, 2027, if approved by Virginia voters. Early voting begins on Friday, September 18.

This article was written with the assistance of  AI.