Anti-LGBTQ+ governor signs bill codifying same-sex marriage in Virginia

Confronted with a newly Democrat-dominated legislature, Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin (R) signed a bill on Friday codifying same-sex marriage in the Commonwealth.

With Youngkin’s signature, the Democratic-sponsored bill ensures same-sex marriage remains legal in Virginia regardless of any change in federal protections.

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Marriage licenses must be issued to any two people seeking a “lawful marriage” in Virginia regardless of gender, race or sex, according to the new law. The Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges guaranteed that same personal right nationwide in 2015, but the high court’s ruling overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022 opened the door for the reconsideration of other personal rights.

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In a concurring opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that year, Justice Clarence Thomas argued the Supreme Court “should reconsider” its past rulings codifying rights to contraception access, same-sex relationships, and same-sex marriage.

Prior to the enactment of the new law, if the Supreme Court were to overturn the right to same-sex marriage, Virginia’s 2006 constitutional ban on same-sex marriage would have taken effect. That ban has been moot since Obergefell.

Democrats in Virginia and other states with similar prohibitions on the books have legislation in the works to repeal them.

As the new law takes effect, the governor’s office emphasized faith-based exemptions allowing clergy and religious organizations to decline to perform same-sex weddings.

“The bill adds First Amendment protections to the code of Virginia,” said Youngkin spokesman Christian Martinez. “Religious organizations and members of the clergy acting in their religious capacity now have the authority to decline to officiate marriage ceremonies that violate their conscience. The remainder of the bill deals with the ministerial duties of issuing licenses, which is already guided by federal preemption.”

Despite those exemptions, advocacy group Equality Virginia credited Youngkin for his signature.

“Two years into his term, Governor Youngkin has shown leadership and inclusivity, and has finally listened to his constituents with his signing of HB174,” said Narissa Rahaman, Equality Virginia’s executive director.

Youngkin signed the bill despite his historically anti-LGBTQ+ stances. He has, among other things, supported numerous policies attacking LGBTQ+ students under the guise of so-called “parents’ rights” in education, and in an  October 2021 interview with the Associated Press, Youngkin said he didn’t personally support same-sex marriage.

While signing the marriage equality bill, Youngkin also vetoed a bill designed to dial back the book-banning frenzy in Virginia. In 2022, the Republican-controlled legislature passed a law requiring schools to notify parents about sexually explicit reading assignments. Book-banning zealots used the rule as a pretext to scour library shelves and remove “offensive” texts wholesale.

Youngkin also took the opportunity to broaden a notification requirement about gun safety in schools into a culture war issue, proposing an amendment that would grant parental “rights” to shield children from sexually explicit material in schools.