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Virginia General Assembly completed first passage of SJ337, constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage recognition

On February 26, 2005, the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates both agreed to the conference report on SJ337, a proposed state constitutional amendment providing that only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage recognized by Virginia and barring the Commonwealth from recognizing any other union assigned the rights or effects of marriage. The vote completed the first of two required successive-session passages under Virginia's constitutional-amendment procedure; SJ337 was sponsored by Sen. Stephen D. Newman and was enacted as Chapter 949 of the 2005 Acts of Assembly.

Jurisdiction
Virginia
Location
Richmond, Virginia

Abuses documented

Actors

  • Virginia Senate
  • Virginia House of Delegates
  • Stephen D. Newman (Virginia State Senator)

On February 26, 2005, the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates both agreed to the conference report on SJ337, completing the first of two required successive-session legislative passages of a state constitutional amendment. The measure provides that "only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by" Virginia, and bars the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions from creating or recognizing any other union, partnership, or legal status assigned the "rights, benefits, obligations, qualities, or effects of marriage." SJ337 originated in the Senate under chief patron Sen. Stephen D. Newman and was enacted as Chapter 949 of the 2005 Acts of Assembly, per the Virginia Legislative Information System's official bill record and the Division of Legislative Services' 2005 session summary of constitutional amendment resolutions.

A companion House resolution carrying identical amendment language, HJ586 (chief patron Del. John A. Cosgrove), also completed first passage the same day and was separately enacted as Chapter 946 — the two are distinct legislative acts, with different bill numbers, chapters, and chambers of origin, not duplicate records of a single event. Under Virginia's constitutional-amendment procedure, a proposed amendment must pass in identical form in two separate sessions divided by an intervening general election before going to voters.

Updates

2006-03-07 — Virginia General Assembly completed second passage of constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage recognition [3]

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 and sending the measure to voters as a ballot referendum.

2006-11-07 — Virginia voters ratified the Marshall-Newman Amendment [3]

Virginia voters ratified the Marshall-Newman Amendment on November 7, 2006, enshrining the ban on same-sex marriage recognition in the state constitution.

2015-06-26 — Obergefell v. Hodges superseded Virginia's same-sex marriage ban [4]

The U.S. Supreme Court held in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015), that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry under the Fourteenth Amendment, rendering state marriage bans including Virginia's Marshall-Newman Amendment unenforceable.

Why we recorded this

Equal protection under law means the state may not write discrimination based on sexual orientation into its founding charter. On February 26, 2005, the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates both agreed to the conference report on SJ337, completing the first of two required legislative passages of a constitutional amendment barring recognition of same-sex unions and any relationship status resembling marriage's rights and obligations. This archive records when a legislature moves to permanently exclude a class of people from a civil institution through the state's constitution rather than ordinary statute, elevating discrimination beyond the reach of future legislative majorities or court challenge under state law.

Sources

  1. SJ 337 Constitutional amendment (first resolution); marriage. — Virginia Legislative Information System (LIS) primary accessed July 20, 2026
  2. Constitutional Amendment Resolutions — 2005 Session Summary — Virginia Division of Legislative Services primary accessed July 20, 2026
  3. 2006 Virginia Question 1, the Marshall-Newman Amendment — Wikipedia secondary accessed July 20, 2026
  4. Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015) — Justia primary accessed July 26, 2026

See also