| Marshall-newman Amendment |
Website Links For Amendment |
Information AboutMarshall-newman Amendment |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT MARSHALL-NEWMAN AMENDMENT | |
| same-sex marriage in the united states | |
| virginia law | |
|
The Marshall-Newman Amendment also referred to as the '''Virginia Marriage Amendment''' is an Amendment to the Constitution Of Virginia defines marriage as solely between one man & one woman and bans recognition of any legal status "approximat the design, qualities, significance, or effects of marriage". [http://www.sbe.virginia.gov/cms/documents/2006_Constitutional_Amendments/2006ques_marriage_APPROVED.pdf Proposed Constitutional Amendment, Article I, Section 15-A , from "November 2006 Proposed Amendments", Virginia State Board of Elections . Accessed 30 December 2006. The amendment was ratified by 57% of the voters on November 7, 2006 Official Results, 2006 election , Virginia State Board of Elections. Accessed 30 December 2006.. BACKGROUND Virginia's amendment is alone in preventing the state from recognizing private contracts ; South Carolina's Amendment explicitly disavows such an aim. p.24 No.54 edition of the Journal of the Senate of the State of South Carolina. State of South Carolina. April 2005. Accessed 06 January 2007. Observers have pointed out that such language encompasses private contracts and medical directives. Test case is urged by ACLU , by Bill Freehling, ''The Free Lance-Star'', November 21, 2006. Accessed 15 December 2006. Potential Impact of the Proposed Marshall/Newman Amendment to the Virginia Constitution , by Melissa Glidden, Brenda Jackson-Cooper, and Leslie Nickel, Arnold & Porter, LLP, August 11, 2006. Accessed 15 December 2006. The text of the amendment states: Only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by this Commonwealth and its political subdivisions. This Commonwealth and its political subdivisions shall not create or recognize a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance, or effects of marriage. Nor shall this Commonwealth or its political subdivisions create or recognize another union, partnership, or other legal status to which is assigned the rights, benefits, obligations, qualities, or effects of marriage. CRITICISM The far-reaching nature of the Marshall-Newman Amendment intended to re-enforce its " Marriage Affirmation Act has attracted criticism. Writing in '' The Washington Post '', Jonathan Rauch argued that:
REFERENCES |
|
|