Same-sex marriage has been legal in Virginia since October 6, 2014, following the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court not to hear an appeal of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling in Bostic v. Schaefer. Same-sex marriages subsequently began at 1:00 p.m. on October 6 after the Fourth Circuit issued its mandate, and since then Virginia has performed legal marriages of same-sex couples and recognized out-of-state same-sex marriages. Previously, the state had passed a statute prohibiting same-sex marriage in 1975, and further restrictions were added in 1997 and 2004, which made "void and unenforceable" any arrangements between same-sex couples bestowing the "privileges or obligations of marriage". Voters approved an amendment to the Constitution of Virginia reinforcing the existing laws in 2006. On January 14, 2014, a U.S. district court judge ruled in Bostic that Virginia's statutory and constitutional bans on the state recognition of same-sex marriages were unconstitutional, a decision upheld by the Fourth Circuit on July 28, 2014.

The Virginia General Assembly repealed the statutory ban on same-sex marriages in 2020. In 2026, both chambers provided final approval to a proposed constitutional amendment to repeal the ban from the state constitution, after providing initial approval the previous year. In order for a constitutional amendment to take effect, it must be passed by two consecutive legislatures before being sent to voters for approval.

Polling suggests that a majority of Virginia residents support the legal recognition of same-sex marriage, with a 2021 survey conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute showing that 71% of Virginians supported same-sex marriage. Same-sex marriage is also supported by both of the state's senators, Democrats Mark Warner and Tim Kaine.

Statutes Legal restrictions In August 1975, the Code of Virginia was amended to prohibit marriages between persons of the same sex. On February 4, 1997, the Virginia State Senate approved the Affirmation of Marriage Act, by a 37–3 vote, banning the recognition of same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions and "any contractual rights created by such marriage". On February 19, the Virginia House of Delegates approved the bill, by an 81–8 vote, and on March 15, Governor George Allen signed the legislation into law, which took effect on July 1.SB 884 Same sex marriages.

On March 10, 2004, the Senate voted 28–10 for a bill prohibiting civil unions or similar arrangements between members of the same sex, including arrangements created by private contract. On March 11, the House of Delegates approved the bill 77–21. Governor Mark Warner issued a formal recommendation to the General Assembly to remove the provisions prohibiting partnership contracts. The House of Delegates received Warner's recommendations on April 15. On April 21, it rejected the recommendations by a vote of 35–65 and by a 69–30 vote approved the bill prohibiting civil unions. That same day, the Senate approved the bill 27–12. It became law without Governor Warner's signature and went into effect on July 1.

Repeal of discriminatory statutes On February 3, 2015, following the legalization of same-sex marriage in Virginia in Bostic, the Senate voted in favor of a bill to update Virginia's statutory laws by making all references to marriage gender-neutral. The bill was sponsored by Senator Adam Ebbin and enjoyed bipartisan support. However, it died in a House subcommittee. In January 2016, Senator Ebbin introduced a similar bill, which also later died without a vote. Representative Marcus Simon introduced a similar bill to the House in January 2018, and a companion bill was introduced to the Senate by Ebbin. None of them passed into law.

On January 28, 2020, the House of Delegates approved a bill (HB 1490), introduced by Nancy Guy, repealing provisions of the Code of Virginia that banned same-sex marriage and civil unions, in a 63–34 vote. On February 17, the bill passed the Senate by 28 votes to 12. It was signed into law by Governor Ralph Northam on March 3.Virginia ban on same-sex marriage, civil unions repealed An identical measure (SB 17), introduced by Ebbin, passed the Senate on January 21 in 25–13 vote,Va. Senate passes four LGBTQ rights bills and the House on February 19 in a 62–38 vote. It was signed into law by Governor Northam on March 6. Both measures took effect on July 1, 2020.

+January 28, 2020 vote in the Virginia House of Delegates Political affiliation Voted for Voted against Abstained Absent (Did not vote) Democratic Party – – Republican Party – Total 34 3 0

+February 17, 2020 vote in the Virginia Senate Political affiliation Voted for Voted against Abstained Absent (Did not vote) Democratic Party – – – Republican Party – – Total 12 0 0

On January 24, 2023, the Virginia Senate passed a bill 25–12 affirming the right of same-sex couples to marry. The legislation would have added the following statement to state law, "A marriage between two parties shall be lawful regardless of the sex of such persons, provided that such marriage is not otherwise prohibited by the provisions of this title. Religious organizations and members of the clergy acting in their religious capacity shall have the right to refuse to perform any marriage." The bill failed to pass the House of Delegates. A similar bill, HB 174, was introduced in the 2024 legislative session by six Democratic lawmakers. The legislation was passed 22–18 in the Senate on February 13, and passed the House on February 21, 2024 by 58 votes to 42. Governor Glenn Youngkin signed it into law on March 8, 2024. The law states:

Constitutional amendments Marshall-Newman Amendment

On February 26, 2005, the House of Delegates voted 79–17 in favor of a constitutional amendment, known as the Marshall-Newman Amendment, that would ban same-sex marriage and any "legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance, or effects of marriage". That same day, the Virginia Senate voted 30–10 in favor of the amendment.HJ 586 Constitutional amendment; marriage may exist only between a man and woman (first reference). An amendment to the Constitution of Virginia requires approval by two succeeding elected legislatures. As such, on January 13, 2006, the House of Delegates voted 73–22 in favor of the amendment, and on February 17 the Senate voted 29–11 in favor.HJ 41 Constitutional amendment (second resolution); marriage. On November 7, 2006, Virginia voters approved the constitutional amendment, which took effect on January 1, 2007.VIRGINIA An Act to provide for the submission to the voters of a proposed amendment to Article I of the 3 Constitution of Virginia by adding a section numbered 15-A, relating to marriage.

Attempts to repeal constitutional ban On February 4, 2021, the Virginia House of Delegates voted 60–33 in favor of a constitutional amendment to repeal the Marshall-Newman Amendment, now unenforceable and void, and replace it with language affirming the fundamental right to marry regardless of gender. The amendment would also guarantee protections for religious clergy and their right to refuse to perform marriages that would contradict their beliefs. On February 19, 2021, the Virginia Senate voted 22–12 in favor of the amendment. The amendment needed to be approved by the subsequent legislature before being placed on the ballot for approval by the Virginia electorate. However, the Republican Party took control of the House during the 2021 elections, and in February 2022 a House subcommittee voted 6–4 against the amendment, despite popular public support. A 2021 poll from the Public Religion Research Institute showed that 71% of Virginians supported same-sex marriage, and most analysts expected the measure to pass conformably had it been placed on the ballot. Chris Head, the chairman of the subcommittee that blocked the amendment, said the measure might have passed had it been a "clean" repeal bill that did not seek to replace the ban with affirmative language declaring marriage a right. Representative Mark Sickles responded, "When you're on the wrong side of public opinion you can really make up some stories".

In July 2022, Governor Glenn Youngkin told a national television audience on Face the Nation that "in Virginia, we actually do protect same-sex marriage". Representative Abigail Spanberger tweeted, "The Governor either doesn't know Virginia's constitution or he's lying & assuming we won't notice", and Senator Ebbin issued the following statement, "Either [Youngkin] is ignorant of the status of gay marriage in Virginia or chose to lie." PolitiFact described Youngkin's statement as "mostly false" and "disingenuous". A.E. Dick Howard, a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, said that "[i]f Obergefell were to be overturned, then, in Virginia, the marriage amendment would take precedence over any conflicting provision of state law. Same-sex marriages would not be recognized in Virginia."

Democratic lawmakers announced in November 2022 that they would introduce another constitutional amendment to repeal the Marshall-Newman Amendment. Republican Delegate Tim Anderson introduced a resolution to repeal the ban in late November. Anderson, who had voted against repealing the same-sex marriage ban in the past, said, "Fundamentally, it does not change anything about Virginia law, because the U.S. Supreme Court has already declared this provision of our constitution unconstitutional. So, nothing is going to fundamentally change in Virginia, it's just mostly about removing dead language in our Constitution. […] I think you'll see most of the people that think like me in the General Assembly, the conservatives, that had a concern with the Democrat language last year, are going to support this clean version of just a straight repeal." The earliest the proposal could be placed on the ballot for approval by voters was in 2024. A separate amendment was introduced by Senator Ebbin in January 2023, and passed the Senate on February 2 by a vote of 25–14. It was rejected by a Republican-controlled House committee by a 1–4 vote on February 17, despite a majority of Virginians supporting same-sex marriage.

Ahead of the 2024 legislative session, Ebbin and Sickles filed another constitutional amendment to repeal the ban. The amendment was reported out of the Privileges and Elections Committee of the House of Delegates on November 13, 2024 by 16 votes to 5. It passed the House 58–35 on January 14, 2025, and the Senate 24–15 on January 31.

+January 14, 2025 vote in the Virginia House of Delegates Political affiliation Voted for Voted against Abstained Absent (Did not vote) Democratic Party – – – Republican Party Total 35 2 5

+January 31, 2025 vote in the Virginia Senate Political affiliation Voted for Voted against Abstained Absent (Did not vote) Democratic Party – – – Republican Party – Total 15 0 1

The proposed amendment would add the following to the Virginia Constitution:

Under the Virginia constitution, when an amendment proposal has passed in the General Assembly, it has to be approved again during the legislative session following the subsequent House of Delegates election before a referendum on it can be placed before the voters. The marriage amendment approved in 2025 was approved for a second time on January 16, 2026, by the Senate after having been approved by the House of Delegates two days earlier. Submission of the amendment to the voters is planned for the general election in November.

Federal and state lawsuits Bostic v. Schaefer