Public Service Announcement:
Breaking News From The General Assembly:

You or Your Priest, Rabbi, Minister, or Congregational Leader May Be a Criminal, proceed directly to jail, do not pass go, please pay $500.

This week in the General Assembly, seven members of the House Courts and Justice committee refused to protect religious freedom by changing a law that is exclusive and actually makes criminals of the leaders of many Metropolitan Community Churches, Reform Jewish Congregations, Unitarian Universalists Congregations, Episcopalians, and many others.   They listened to voices from the Catholic Conference Lobby and the The Family Foundation who, despite everything they have ever said about religious freedom, urged them to continue to criminalize private denominational religious services because they don't agree with who the service is performed on, namely same-gender couples.  

Members of the General Assembly seem to think homophobia is more important to defend than your constitutionally guaranteed free exercise of religion.

A couple of years ago it came to my attention that the Virginia Code, chapter 20:13, says that "Every marriage in this Commonwealth shall be under license." It seems innocuous enough, but as I prepare for my own wedding to my boyfriend, I realize that what I am actually doing is asking my priest to break the law. The law, originally adopted in 1919 during the height of misogamy for interracial couples, has just been upheld by a sub-committee of the General Assembly out of a new fear of same-gender unions.

So what exactly is the problem? Well, while some of us have had or attended "unions" or "blessings" in the past, more and more denominations and traditions are performing actual "weddings" or "marriages". Ultimately, the inherent similarities between a union and a marriage could potentially be construed, legally, as minor semantics, no matter how methodically we avoid the actual word, they are marriages in the hearts and minds of many of those attending.

The bill we proposed to the General Assembly, HB 1115, carried by Delegate David Englin, a hero to our cause from Alexandria, would have corrected three major problems with the law as it stands today.

Find out more.

The second problem is the state is required to discern who is the properly ordained leader in the dozens of faith traditions active in Virginia, as there are special clauses authorizing 'ministers' to be agents of the state when it comes to marriages. Our bill would have done away with that, and simply allowed people to register to solemnize the marriage and not make the faith leader the de facto signer.

Lastly, it would decriminalize not filing a marriage seeking no legal recognition from the state, and pro forming a marriage for two people who could not be legally married, or just don't want to be. Elderly couples, for example, may with to spiritually recognize their union without jeopardizing their earned Social Security or pension benefits.

This last point especially violates the "wall of separation" established by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, since the law is dictating what is legal to do liturgically and regardless of the the theological stance of the denomination, criminalizing certain religious services.      

Rest assured that we will continue to fight this unconstitutional law as hard as we can.  Denying loving couples a marriage license is bad, criminalizing the celebration of a relationship in our own Houses of God is unconscionable.

Help us fight!  Talk to your legislators and your congregation about HB1115! 

View talking points for HB1115 and conversation starters here!   

I know that together we can make a difference and ensure religious freedom for generations to come.

~ Cameron Hunt, Program Director, POFEV