Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage could soon be abolished

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - There is a new bipartisan effort to abolish Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage.

“Marriage equality is a fundamental right and I welcome anyone to that work, no matter how long it took them to get there,” 57th District Delegate Sally Hudson said.

Del. Hudson says this new effort has to go beyond repealing the ban.

“We have to replace that ban with an affirmative protective right to marriage,” the delegate said. “The proposal we’ve seen from Delegate Tim Anderson in Virginia Beach doesn’t do that. It would leave the Virginia State Constitution silent on marriage rights, and that leaves us vulnerable to attacks on marriage equality at the federal level.”

Del. Hudson says party politics got in the way last year. She hopes this time around is different.

“We had enough votes to pass that on a bipartisan basis through the Virginia State Senate, and it died in the House because we couldn’t get any Republicans to cross party lines and bring it to the floor,” she said.

The General Assembly reconvenes January 11, 2023.

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