Proposals for an amendment to the Virginia Constitution defining marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman passed both houses of the Virginia General Assembly earlier this week.
On Tuesday, the final day before legislation had to be crossed over for consideration by the Senate 78 members of the House of Delegates voted in favor of the amendment, while 18 voted against it.
"Marriage has and always should remain between a man and a woman," said Del. John Cosgrove, R-Chesapeake, chief patron of the amendment.
Those who support the legislation say that it serves to define marriage but not prevent it.
"It's a positive -- not a negative," said Del. Daniel Marshall, R-Danville, who voted in favor of the bill.
Others regard this amendment as a restriction of their right to marry and their ability to interact with loved ones in situations in which a legal relationship must exist.
"It's been a horrible session for a significant number of people in this state," said faculty member and U.Va. Pride member Claire Kaplan.
The Senate approved a similar constitutional amendment in a 30-10 vote Monday.
The Senate and House versions will be meted out in committee to produce an identical document and voted on again during the 2006 Assembly session.
If passed, the amendment will then have to be approved by the citizens of the Commonwealth.
Amendments to the Virginia Constitution -- particularly those to the Bill of Rights -- are very rare, according to University Law Prof. Daniel Ortiz.
Virginia's Affirmation of Marriage Act currently prevents the Commonwealth from extending the benefits "of contract or other arrangement between persons of the same sex purporting to bestow the privileges or obligations of marriages."
The constitutional amendments include language that helps clarify confusion over which privileges and benefits are exclusive to marriage.
A constitutional amendment will not strengthen the legal application of the current definition of marriage, Ortiz said.
Some of the amendment's supporters say they anticipate problems arising from the "full faith and credit clause" of the U.S. Constitution, which requires recognition of other states' marriage licenses.
"We are expecting federal challenges, and we have worked to address those," said Del. Robert Marshall, R-Manassass, who sponsored the House version of the amendment.
The minority in opposition to the amendment has questioned the timing of the constitutional proposition.
"This is all about politics and re-election campaigns," Del. Daniel Ebbin D-Arlington, the first openly gay Delegate, said to the General Assembly Tuesday according to a press release from his office.
Robert Marshall said the seemingly last-minute timing of the amendment's consideration was not a political maneuver, as some have suggested, but instead was because the Speaker of the House, William Howell R-Fredericksburg, became tired and postponed consideration by one day.
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