In 2006, Virginia voters put a same-sex marriage ban into their state constitution.

Twenty years later, voters have chosen to replace it with protections for marriage equality.

Now that is an anniversary worth raising a glass to.

Virginians have approved Question 2, a constitutional amendment removing the old prohibition and establishing an affirmative right to marry.

For gay couples who remember being the subject of those marriage-ban campaigns, the turnaround carries a particular emotional weight.

They have spent the intervening years building homes, celebrating anniversaries and doing the wonderfully ordinary work of sharing a life.

Now their state’s constitution is getting a long-overdue update.

What Virginia Voters Approved

According to the Virginia Department of Elections, the amendment protects lawful marriages between two adults regardless of sex, gender or race.

It also requires those marriages to be treated equally under state law.

The protections therefore cover interracial marriages as well as same-sex marriages.

VPM reported that the Associated Press called the measure’s passage on Tuesday evening, with official certification still to follow.

Under the legislation authorizing the referendum, the amendment takes effect on January 1, 2027.

That gives Virginia a new constitutional starting point for the year ahead.

Why The Old Words Still Mattered

Same-sex couples can already marry in Virginia.

The Washington Post reports that a federal appeals court struck down the state’s ban in 2014, before the Supreme Court established marriage equality nationwide in 2015.

Yet the discriminatory language remained in Virginia’s constitution.

As VPM explains, supporters wanted to remove that provision and establish state constitutional protection against the possibility of federal marriage rights being reversed.

The vote therefore addresses both the words Virginia uses to describe marriage and the legal foundation protecting couples.

For husbands planning their future together, that foundation matters.

A marriage includes the joyful photographs, certainly, but also the practical commitments that stretch across decades.

It is the person you call first, the household you run together and the promise to keep showing up when life gets complicated.

A Different Answer After Twenty Years

Equality Virginia traces the old ban to the Marshall-Newman Amendment, which voters approved in November 2006.

The organization has advocated for removing that language and replacing it with an affirmative right to marry.

Responding to the result, Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson celebrated the removal of a discriminatory provision and the strengthening of marriage protections, according to LGBTQ Nation.

For readers who remember when their relationships regularly appeared on ballots, the significance needs little explaining.

Twenty years ago, Virginia voters approved exclusion.

This time, they approved constitutional recognition and equal treatment.

For the couples who have loved each other through those changing political seasons, that is a milestone worth celebrating together.

📷 Canva Stock

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Chris Pappas has made history as the first out gay man elected to the U.S. Senate, and one of his election-night thank-yous was for the man standing beside him.

His husband, Vann Bentley, joined him as he addressed supporters in New Hampshire.

“Win, lose, or draw, I’m the luckiest guy because I’m married to a man that I love.”

The words gave a deeply personal note to a night with national significance.

A Senate milestone, with love beside him

AP and Reuters reported Pappas’s victory over Republican John E. Sununu in the November 3 election.

The Democrat will succeed retiring Senator Jeanne Shaheen in January, moving from the House of Representatives to the Senate.

The milestone is specifically the election of an out gay man to the chamber, which has previously included LGBTQ+ women.

The Washington Blade reported that Bentley stood alongside Pappas when he spoke in Manchester.

The couple announced their marriage in February 2023, with contemporary reporting by LGBTQ Nation documenting their wedding announcement and gratitude for the support of family and friends.

Three years later, that partnership was part of another public celebration.

For gay viewers who remember politicians hiding their relationships, a husband acknowledged from a victory stage can still feel significant.

Gay House members are returning too

Pappas’s Senate victory was accompanied by reelection wins for several gay members of the House.

The Advocate reported that Robert Garcia won a third term in California’s 42nd District, citing a race call by Decision Desk HQ.

The same publication reported that Mark Takano secured an eighth term in California’s 39th District, also based on a Decision Desk HQ projection.

AP called New York’s 15th District for Ritchie Torres, returning the Bronx congressman for another term.

In Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Examiner reported that Mark Pocan won reelection in the 2nd District after running unopposed.

NPR Illinois reported that AP called Illinois’s 17th District for Eric Sorensen, who defeated Dillan Vancil to secure a third term.

These are reported election victories rather than certified final results, with ballot counting and formal certification still to follow.

The people behind the milestones

The results bring different histories and experiences back into Congress while opening a new chapter in the Senate.

They also offer a reminder that public representation has a personal side.

For Pappas, the night included gratitude for voters, a new responsibility and the partner who shared the moment.

His words about Bentley were simple: whatever happened at the ballot box, there was already something in his life worth celebrating.

On a night when he made history, he made room for that love too.

📷 Chris Pappas

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