Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the state's bicameral legislature, made up of the Senate and the House of Delegates, and is the oldest continuous law-making body in the Americas. Its entries reach back to 2004 and cover both legislation and the drawing of electoral districts.
2026 Events (1)
Virginia Supreme Court strikes down Democratic-led mid-decade congressional gerrymander
Virginia's Democratic-led General Assembly advanced a mid-decade redraw of the state's 11 U.S. House districts, first stripping congressional map-drawing power from the voter-established bipartisan redistricting commission through a constitutional amendment that voters narrowly ratified 52% to 48% on April 21, 2026. On May 8, 2026, the Supreme Court of Virginia struck the amendment down, ruling that the legislature had violated the state constitution's multi-step process for placing amendments on the ballot and rendering the referendum null and void. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to revive the plan on May 15, leaving Virginia's existing court-drawn map in place; the Democratic-drawn map, engineered to flip as many as four Republican-held seats, never took effect.
2006 Events (1)
Virginia General Assembly gave final passage to constitutional amendment banning recognition of same-sex marriage and civil unions
On March 7, 2006, the Virginia House of Delegates voted 76-22 to give final approval to SJ92, completing the second of two required successive-session passages of a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as only between one man and one woman and barring recognition of any other union, partnership, or legal status carrying marriage-like rights or obligations. The measure, chief-patroned by Senator Stephen D. Newman, was sent to Virginia voters, who ratified it in November 2006 as the Marshall-Newman Amendment.
2004 Events (1)
Virginia General Assembly enacted Affirmation of Marriage Act, voiding same-sex civil unions and contractual rights
On April 21, 2004, the Virginia General Assembly passed the Affirmation of Marriage Act (HB 751), chief-patroned by Del. Robert G. Marshall, declaring that same-sex civil unions, partnership contracts, and any related contractual rights are void and unenforceable in Virginia. The enrolled bill passed the House 69–30 and the Senate 27–12 after Governor Mark Warner's recommendation to narrow the bill was rejected; it became law without the Governor's signature as Chapter 983 of the 2004 Acts of Assembly, effective July 1, 2004. The law voided not only civil unions created elsewhere but also private-contract rights — including domestic-partner benefits, hospital visitation agreements, and inheritance arrangements — that same-sex couples had established.