Five months ahead of a statewide referendum to repeal an unenforceable ban on same-sex marriage in Virginia, Alexandria Del. R. Kirk McPike (D-5) has been named the co-chair of a campaign to amend the Constitution of Virginia.
McPike, who is in a same-sex marriage, helped launch the Virginians for Marriage Equality campaign in Richmond on Monday (June 1) for the first day of Pride Month. McPike told ALXnow that the campaign will be visible and looking for volunteers to sign up at community Pride events this month across the Commonwealth.
“We’re fighting to ensure Virginia’s constitution reflects the values of voters,” McPike told ALXnow.
The Virginia General Assembly, in 2006, added language in the state constitution defining marriage as exclusively the union between a man and a woman. The ban was overturned in federal court in 2014, although the language remained. Virginia voters will decide on removing the language on Tuesday, Nov. 3, along with referendums on reproductive rights and voting rights restorations for former felons.
McPike married his husband in Pentagon City in late 2019.
“We want to codify the rights of marriages like mine to exist in Virginia,” McPike said. “What we have here is something that was put in place in 2006 and really doesn’t reflect the values of Virginia as they stand today, and would be endangered by some federal action.”
The constitutional amendment was introduced by Alexandria’s former state Sen. Adam Ebbin, who became the General Assembly’s first openly gay member in 2003. The campaign is sponsored by Equality Virginia.
“While marriage is first and foremost an act of love, there are many legal and financial protections that Virginia married couples rely on every day,” Narissa Rahaman, executive director of Equality Virginia and member of Virginians for Marriage Equality, told ALXnow. “From hospital visitation rights and inheritance protections to the ability to make medical decisions for a spouse, protecting marriage equality is about ensuring families have the stability and security that comes with recognition by the state.”
Pride Month events image via Virginians for Marriage Equality/Facebook
