State Sen. Adam Ebbin Trying Again to Codify LGBTQ Rights In Virginia Law
Ebbin Trying Again to Codify LGBTQ Rights In Virginia Law
by Jennifer Currier January 5, 2016 at 10:00 am
State Sen. Adam Ebbin (D) is trying again to codify some basic LGBTQ rights in Virginia.
Ebbin has proposed three bills to the General Assembly regarding same-sex marriage and LGBTQ rights bills very similar to the three that were rejected during last years legislative session. They were all defeated in their respective committees.
One bill
would repeal the amendment to the Constitution of Virginia that defines valid or recognized marriages as only a union between a man and a woman. It also prohibits the creation or recognition of other legal relationship statuses including partnerships and unions that are assigned the same rights and benefits as marriages. This amendment was approved by voters during the November 2006 election, but declared unconstitutional by a federal judge in 2014.
Another Ebbin bill
would repeal two pieces of state law that prohibit same-sex marriages and civil unions. The
statute prohibiting marriage between individuals of the same sex and considering such marriages conducted in another state void was first enacted in 1975. The [link:statute that does the same for civil unions|statute that does the same for civil unions] was passed in 2004.