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With advocates at her side and an eye on a volatile national legal landscape, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger Friday signed legislation sending a slate of constitutional amendments to voters, including a measure that would finally erase the state’s ban on same-sex marriages and replace it with an affirmative right to marriage equality.
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At a signing ceremony in Richmond, Spanberger described the existing marriage ban as “antiquated” and said Virginia families should not have to rely solely on court decisions for their security. “We want to make sure that Virginia families know that here in Virginia, it is not just a Supreme Court decision that protects them, but it is also our state constitution," she said. “It’ll be a big step for Virginia to ensure that every family knows that Virginia is a place that welcomes them, appreciates them, and sees them for the wonderful family and Virginians that they are.”
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She added, “So before I get too emotional on that one, I will start signing.”
Watch Gov. Spanberger sign the Virginia marriage equality referendum bill below.
Standing with the governor was Narissa Rahaman, executive director of Equality Virginia, whose organization has long advocated removing the 2006 Marshall-Newman Amendment from the state constitution. That provision, approved by 57 percent of voters nearly two decades ago, defined marriage as between one man and one woman and barred recognition of any legal status “approximating” marriage. Although federal courts rendered it unenforceable in 2014, it has remained embedded in Virginia’s constitution as a relic of a different political era.
“This is about finishing the job,” Rahaman said in a statement ahead of the signing. “Twenty years after banning marriage equality, it’s time for our commonwealth to fully complete our evolution — and finish the job on protecting marriage equality for all. It’s up to all of us to vote on November 3, 2026, to safeguard marriage for all Virginians and remove the stain that exists in our constitution.”
The ballot question voters will see in the fall asks whether Virginia should amend its constitution to remove the ban on same-sex marriage, affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, or race, and require all legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law. If approved, the change would enshrine marriage equality in the state’s highest legal document, insulating it from shifts in federal law or future Supreme Court rulings.
"Everyone deserves the freedom to marry who they love — and Virginia’s Constitution should affirm that all families are welcome in our Commonwealth," Spanberger said in a statement.
Related:Virginia LGBTQ+ advocates and allies come together to celebrate 10 years of marriage equality
The marriage measure is part of a broader package Spanberger advanced Friday. At the ceremony, she also signed bills sending voters a proposed reproductive rights amendment, saying Virginia’s constitution should protect “our right to privacy, our right to contraception, our right to IVF, and our right to choose,” and noting that Virginia is the only state in the South that has not further restricted abortion access since the fall of Roe v. Wade in 2022.
She also signed measures advancing a referendum to restore voting rights for people with felony convictions and another related to redistricting.
