The Virginia State Capitol building in Richmond, Virginia, as seen on Jan. 10, 2024. (Billy Schuerman/The Virginian-Pilot/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Protections for reproductive rights, marriage equality and the restoration of voting rights for some felons could be enshrined in the Virginia state constitution if measures that a committee recommended as bills are seen through to the end.
It's long road from committee to enshrined amendment. The resolutions will need to pass the General Assembly twice as bills, with an election between votes, and then go to a ballot for voters to make the final decision. But the first steps in the process were taken in the House on Wednesday.
During a meeting Wednesday, the Privileges and Elections Committee met and advanced three separate resolutions. The committee is a 22-member committee in the Virginia House, with 12 Democrat and 10 Republican members.
The recommendations -- at least one of which was bipartisan -- come as the Democrat-controlled state legislature prepares for the 2025 session before the Nov. 18th deadline for the previous session.
Reproductive rights
House Joint Resolution 1 (HJ1) proposes adding the right to reproductive freedom to the Virginia constitution.
Access to prenatal care, postpartum care, contraception, abortion care, miscarriage management and infertility treatment would be included in the measure, according to a press release from the office of Virginia House Speaker Don Scott.
The goal of HJ1 is to keep healthcare decisions separate from "government interference," the release says, protecting "personal healthcare autonomy."
The resolution was moved forward with a 12-9 vote. Read the full text of the resolution here.
The decision to allow or outlaw abortion has been left to individual states since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
In Virginia, abortion is legal up until the end of the second trimester of pregnancy, around 26 weeks. Virginia is the last southern state without significant restrictions on the right to an abortion.
However, Gov. Glenn Youngkin has tried to make a 15-week abortion ban a priority as recently as last August.
"Personal healthcare decisions should remain between a patient and their doctor, without interference from politicians," Virginia House Majority Leader Charniele Herring said in the release. "These protections are essential without federal law governing this important issue. Virginia must take a stand to guarantee reproductive freedoms now and for the future, regardless of federal uncertainties."
Marriage equality
House Joint Resolution 9 (HJ9) would remove a ban on same-sex marriage that remains a part of Virginia's constitution.
Same-sex marriage became legal in Virginia in 2014, despite the state's 2006 constitutional ban, when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled the ban went against the U.S. constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court then refused to hear an appeal.
Under the Supreme Court's 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, same-sex marriage is currently protected in all states at the federal level. The 2015 landmark case further nullified Virginia's constitutional ban that was left on the books.
Adding the right to marriage equality into the Virginia constitution would mean that LGBTQ+ couples would be able to marry in Virginia even if there were a change to those federal protections.
The new resolution in Virginia was moved forward Wednesday with a 16-5 vote. Read the full text of that resolution here.
“Love is love, and it’s time for our Constitution to reflect that,” Virginia Del. Mark Sickles said in the release. "By removing the ban on same-sex marriage, Virginia is affirming the dignity and rights of all couples and families in our Commonwealth."
The resolution also includes text that would enshrine the right to interracial marriage in the Virginia state constitution.
Previous laws banning interracial marriage in Virginia were never enshrined in the constitution. Laws against interracial marriage were only overturned in 1967, when the Supreme Court unanimously decided so in Loving v. Virginia.
Voting rights for some felons
House Joint Resolution 2 (HJ2) would automatically restore voting rights to people convicted of felonies after they serve their sentences.
Under current Virginia law, any Virginia resident convicted of a felony cannot vote in any election. The only way for those people to get their right to vote back is for the governor to approve their re-enfranchisement.
The resolution was moved forward with a 12-9 vote. Read the full text of the resolution here.
The stated goal of HJ2 is to "empower returning citizens to participate fully in civic life without additional barriers," the release says.
"The right to vote is fundamental, and it’s time Virginia eliminated barriers to democracy for returning citizens," Virginia Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker said in the release. "By restoring voting rights, we’re empowering more Virginians to have a voice in shaping their communities. This amendment is about redemption, reintegration, and the belief in second chances."
Opposition
Some groups are already speaking out against the resolutions. The Family Foundation, a Christian nonprofit that advocates for "policies based on Biblical principles," according to its website, released a statement Wednesday condemning HJ1 and HJ9.
"HJ1 seeks to create a fundamental right to abortion, including young girls without the consent of their parents," the statement reads. "HJ9 would redefine marriage and divide the concept of 'sex' and 'gender' in the Constitution, paving the way for a right to biological boys to both enter the locker rooms of girls and take their spots on sports teams."
HJ9 says nothing about locker rooms, bathrooms, sports teams or anything aside from the right to marriage regardless of "the sex, gender, or race of such parties" involved in the marriage. The resolution also allows clergy and religious organizations to refuse to perform marriages based on their own religious beliefs.
"Despite last week's election results liberals in Richmond continue to play the same games and focus on their radical social agenda," Family Foundation president Victoria Cobb said in the statement.
How long would it take to go from resolution to enshrined amendment?
Now that they've been introduced by Virginia House Democrats, each of the resolutions would need to pass through both houses of the Virginia General Assembly twice. A House of Delegates election has to happen between the first and second time the bills pass.
After the second passage, both houses of the General Assembly must pass a referendum bill. The governor can theoretically veto the referendum bill, but according to Randolph-Macon College, that has never happened.
After the referendum bill passes and is signed by the governor, the amendments can then be added to the ballot during the next general election, for voters to make the final call.
If voters decide in favor of the amendments, they then would be added to the Virginia constitution.
Democrats currently have control of both Virginia's Senate and House of Delegates. All seats in the Virginia House are up for election in Nov. 2025, along with Virginia's governor.
The earliest voters could see the proposed amendment on their ballots would be during the Nov. 2026 election.
News4 Northern Virginia Bureau Chief Julie Carey contributed to this report.
