On November 7, 2006 the voters of our state chose to enshrine the traditional definition of marriage into our Constitution. The Virginia Marriage Amendment, which states that “only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by this Commonwealth and its political subdivisions,” was approved that day by a wide margin of 57 percent.
We scored a victory for democracy that day. We Virginians exercised our fundamental right to define marriage in our own state according to our own values.
This fundamental right was recently upheld and affirmed by the Supreme Court in the decision of Windsor v. United States, a case challenging only one particular section of the Federal Defense of Marriage Act. That section was ruled unconstitutional, but at the same time the right of states to determine their own marriage laws was upheld—a fact you’d never learn from reading the newspapers.
This is why it is so troubling that now, only seven years later, the will of the voters of Virginia in the matter of marriage faces challenges on several fronts, and most egregiously right here in the City of Richmond.
Our City Council is considering an ordinance that would undermine the determination of the majority of Virginians voiced so emphatically only a handful of years ago.
The proposal, by the way (Ordinance 2013-154), would have no real legal effects at the present time: the very wording of the paper currently in committee states that Richmond would only recognize same-sex unions in the event that our State Constitution were to change sometime in the future.
So why consider such a proposal at all? Because the media flurry that would surround the passage of this sham law would put pressure on our State legislature to cave to special interest forces—most of them coming from outside of our state—and impose a redefinition of marriage on the people of Virginia. Seeing how terribly the media has misinformed citizens about the recent Supreme Court decisions on marriage, we could only expect that reportage of the passage of this ordinance would be similarly skewed.
Even though the law would be a dead-letter in the context of our present State Constitution, it would still doubtless have very real consequences for Virginians. We may end up seeing the same sort of lawlessness we’ve seen recently in other places around the country: local officials taking matters into their own hands and issuing same-sex marriage licenses without any constitutional authority. Furthermore, this ordinance would be a political power play very close to an important series of elections in our state—and that is just one of the many reasons that the City Council even bringing it up should be seen as irresponsible and reckless.
Today I urge the people of Richmond to stand up to our City Council and tell them that the people of Virginia have already spoken on marriage—loudly and clearly. We believe that this vital institution—the bedrock of our society—is solely the union of a man and a woman. This arrangement has served all civilization well for countless ages, and in our day is the best means we have of ensuring every child the opportunity to have both a mother and father. Tell your Councilmember to scrap this terrible proposal, Ordinance 2013-154, and to stop playing politics and get back to work for the people of Richmond.
Bishop Darryl F. Husband, Sr.
Mount Olivet Church
