State Constitutions With Same-Sex Marriage Restrictions After Virginia Vote
Summary
Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment to remove the state’s ban on same-sex marriage and affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender or race. As of November 4, 2026, the amendment’s formal certification and effective date were still pending; same-sex marriage remains legal nationwide under the 2015 Supreme Court ruling.Key Facts
- Virginia voters approved the amendment, known as Question 2, on November 3.
- The amendment would remove language added to Virginia’s constitution in 2006 that defined marriage as only between a man and a woman.
- The proposed replacement language bars the state from denying a marriage license to two adults because of sex, gender or race and requires equal treatment of legally valid marriages under state law.
- A federal judge struck down Virginia’s ban in 2014.
- The Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision required states to license same-sex marriages and recognize lawful same-sex marriages performed elsewhere.
- The Supreme Court decision made state marriage bans unenforceable but did not remove their wording from state constitutions or laws.
- Nevada removed its constitutional restriction in 2020; California, Colorado and Hawaii did so in 2024.
- Before Virginia’s amendment formally takes effect, 27 states still have restrictive marriage language in their constitutions, according to the article.
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