Spencer Geiger (left) and Carl Johansen protest for equal marriage outside the Walter E. Hoffman U.S. Courthouse as oral arguments in the case of Bostic v Rainey proceed on February 4, 2014 in Norfolk, Virginia. (Photo by Jay Paul/Getty Images)
A federal judge has ruled that Virginia’s same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional, saying it violates the Due Process and Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen began her opinion by quoting Mildred Loving, the black woman whose marriage to a white man led to a Supreme Court ruling against Virginia that overturned state miscegenation laws.
I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to marry. Government has no business imposing some people’s religious beliefs over others. . . . I support the freedom to marry for all. That’s what Loving, and loving, are all about.
“Justice has often been forged from fires of indignities and prejudices suffered. Our triumphs that celebrate the freedom of choice are hallowed. We have arrived upon another moment in history when We the People becomes more inclusive, and our freedom more perfect,” Wright Allen concluded before quoting President Abraham Lincoln.
Almost one hundred and fifty four years ago, as Abraham Lincoln approached the cataclysmic rending of our nation over a struggle for other freedoms, a rending that would take his life and the lives of hundreds of thousands of others, he wrote these words: “It can not have failed to strike you that these men ask for just. . . the same thing—fairness, and fairness only. This, so far as in my power, they, and all others, shall have.”
The men and women, and the children too, whose voices join in noble harmony with
Plaintiffs today, also ask for fairness, and fairness only. This, so far as it is in this Court’s power, they and all others shall have.
The ruling does not immediately legalize same-sex marriage in Virginia. The judge stayed her decision pending an appeal.
In a statement, Va. Attorney General Mark Herring said “this decision is a victory for the Constitution and for treating everyone equally under the law.”
“It is the latest step in a journey towards equality for all Virginians, no matter who they are or whom they love,” he continued. “The legal process will continue to play out in the months to come, but this decision shows that Virginia, like America, is coming to a better place in recognizing that every Virginian deserves to be treated equally and fairly.”
