Virginia voters face marriage equality referendum to rewrite equality into the state constitution
Virginia is holding an historic referendum that would change its state constiution (Getty Images)
Virginia voters are being asked to back a constitutional amendment that would enshrine marriage equality in the state constitution, with an Arlington couple calling it a “critical vote” as early voting gets under way.
Question 2 is on the ballot in Virginia this year. If approved, it would codify the US Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell decision that extended marriage rights to same-sex couples nationwide. Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Virginia since 6 October 2014.
Rob Bookbinder and James Fisher, who live in Arlington, have been together for 38 years and married in 2014. Fisher told the Washington Blade: “We think this is a critical vote to remove this discriminatory language from the constitution and to ensure that going forward, no matter what happens, the state of Virginia will ensure marriage equality.”
What would Virginia Question 2 change?
For Bookbinder, the campaign is about more than legal wording. He said it was important for him and Fisher to get married “to gain social equality.”
“I was surprised how good it felt, how important it was to begin to say, ‘my husband rather than my partner,’” Bookbinder said.
The couple said they are hopeful voters will approve the amendment, arguing Virginia has become more progressive over the years. Fisher also suggested attitudes can shift as more people see that a same-sex marriage is “just a marriage”.
The couple added that the effort to embed marriage equality in Virginia’s constitution is a response to the Trump-Vance administration.
How can voters support the Question 2 campaign?
Equality Virginia executive director Narissa Rahaman said early voting has already begun, and urged people to look out for the measure on their ballot.
“With early voting now underway, our focus is making sure every Virginian knows Question 2 is on their ballot,” Rahaman said. “The outdated ban on same-sex marriage still in Virginia’s state constitution leaves a gap in protections for the thousands of same-sex couples that call this state home, but after 20 years we have the chance to fix it.”
Voters can find more information via the campaign page for Question 2. In 2022, Republicans in Virginia blocked an attempt to remove the state’s now-defunct marriage equality ban from the constitution, as same-sex marriage remained technically unconstitutional in Virginia.
