A final barrier to same-sex marriage in Virginia falls
Same-sex couples begin to marry in Virginia
(about 3 hours later)
RICHMOND — The Supreme Court on Monday effectively allowed same-sex marriage to go forward in Virginia, deciding not to take up a Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that overturned the commonwealth’s ban on same-sex marriages.
A Northern Virginia woman was on the phone researching a same-sex marriage ceremony in Delaware when everything changed. Two men were looking at their intended wedding hall in the District when they heard the news and headed to the courthouse in Alexandria. A woman in Centreville saw an announcement on Facebook and, sobbing, stumbled up the stairs to the bathroom, where her fiancée was in the shower.
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a mandate to remove the last barrier to same-sex marriage in Virginia. The first same-sex marriages were performed in Charlottesville and Richmond shortly after 1 p.m.
“I think,” she said, “we can get married today.”
At the same time, the commonwealth recognized marriages already performed in states as legal.
On Monday, the Supreme Court effectively allowed same-sex marriage to proceed in Virginia when it refused to take up a 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that overturned the commonwealth’s ban.
While opponents of same-sex marriage deplored the change, same-sex marriage advocates and gay couples in Virginia celebrated.
The commonwealth immediately recognized the marriages of same-sex couples who’d already wed in other states. The appeals court issued a mandate to remove the final barrier to marry in Virginia, prompting couples all over to descend on their courthouses, pick up licenses and, in some cases, marry on the spot. From Virginia Beach to Charlottesville to Fairfax, smiling, teary-eyed couples lined up for a moment that dozens of them didn’t think would be possible in their lifetimes — even as opponents of same-sex marriage condemned the justices’ decision and its result.
Donna Turton and Beth Trent, both of Springfield, asked their pastor to come to the Alexandria courthouse to marry them just as soon as they learned the news from the Washington Post mobile app.
Yvonne Landis and Melodie Mayo, who live in Falls Church, had waited two decades for the chance to marry in their home state. They arrived in Fairfax just 20 minutes after Virginia changed its rules. They had no time for special clothes or bouquets. Mayo, 50, wore cargo shorts and Landis, 58, had on a pink fleece.
Dressed in what they joked were their wedding clothes — blue jeans and black T-shirts — the couple, who have been together since 2010, began to get antsy in the crowded clerk’s office.
There was joy and a whiplash sense of disbelief at how quickly attitudes had changed toward same-sex marriage and gays in general. Mayo recalled surreptitiously going to lesbian bars in the 1970s.
Turton, impatient for the license, implored the deputy clerk, “I’ll bake you a cake if you type faster.”
“Now, we walked up to the courthouse holding hands,” Mayo said. “I wouldn’t ever have thought this day would have happened.”
When they received the license, she said: “We’re super-thrilled. We’re really in love.”
In Alexandria, those seeking a marriage license got a late start as the clerk of courts waited for official word before issuing the licenses. But at 2 p.m., three couples waiting in the clerk’s office were called to the counter.
She and Trent were married before three friends, three television cameras and three still photographers.
Among them were Justin Smith and Jim Scheye, the men who had abruptly abandoned their would-be wedding hall in the District. “This is pretty moving,” said Scheye, a 26-year veteran of the Coast Guard. “I’m proud of my state right now.”
The next couple in line, Justin Smith and Jim Scheye, said that they had been planning to marry in the District but could now pick a reception hall in their home state.
His pride was not shared throughout Virginia.
“This is pretty moving,” Scheye said, tearing up. A 26-year veteran of the Coast Guard, he said: “I thought the repeal [of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell] was pretty big. This is bigger.”
Del. Bob Marshall (R-Prince William), co-author of the state’s marriage ban, decried the move in a statement and predicted that “marriage will soon include polygamy, or threesomes, leaving innocent children to suffer the consequences.”
The men, who live in Alexandria, plan on having an Oct. 26 wedding and celebration somewhere in Northern Virginia.
The Supreme Court’s action brought an abrupt end to a case that conservatives in the Virginia House of Delegates had been gearing up to fight. When the legislature met in a special session on Medicaid expansion last month, the House passed a resolution authorizing the speaker to hire an attorney to defend the state constitution or any laws that the attorney general chooses not to defend. The House had not yet hired a lawyer to represent it in the marriage case.
In Fairfax County, courthouse clerks set up ropes in anticipation of a surge in same-sex couples seeking marriage licenses. Shortly after 1:20 p.m., Falls Church couple Yvonne Landis and Melodie Mayo were the first same-sex couple to begin applying for a marriage license in the county.
Former attorney general Ken Cuccinelli II (R) criticized the ruling, calling it “extremely disappointing.” Cuccinelli asked in an e-mail: “Do the people and the states get to decide anything for themselves under this federal government anymore?”
“I’m just really excited,” Landis said. “We always said we are waiting for Virginia. We wanted it to be legal here.”
Inside Virginia’s courthouses, those voices of dissension seemed far away.
The couple first had a commitment ceremony in Fairfax in 1995 and have been together for 23 years.
On Monday afternoon, Attorney General Mark R. Herring (D), who refused to defend Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage, stood on the terrace outside the Richmond courthouse and ticked off a list of rights and privileges newly afforded to same-sex couples. They can now adopt children, sign up for each other’s employee benefits, make medical decisions for each other, visit each other in the hospital, transfer an inheritance and file joint tax returns.
In Richmond, Rev. Hilary Smith of Church of the Holy Comforter in the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia stationed herself on the terrace outside the courthouse, ready to perform civil ceremonies for any same-sex couples wishing to tie the knot immediately after obtaining their license. She was up to four and counting within three hours of marriage becoming legal.
His words held special significance for two women standing before him: Carol Schall and Mary Townley, a couple who challenged Virginia’s ban after their California marriage was not recognized in their home state. Herring appeared with the couple to reaffirm their vows.
Melissa Yeager and her aunt Joanna Pine brought Yeager’s three sons — David, 4; Henry, 2; and Peter, three months — to watch those impromptu marriages. They wore paper party hats and blew noisemakers.
“For the first time legally in Virginia I can say that I’m here with my wife, Mary, and my daughter, Emily,” Schall told a crowd of news media and supporters. “I don’t think there’s any more profound statement, yet any more simple statement than for me to say that.”
“When I moved to the States, especially to Virginia, it was a bit of a shock, the kind of attitudes that prevailed here,” said Yeager, who is English and said she grew up with a gay aunt and uncle and never thought much of it until she moved to the United States in 2007.
“It’s just amazing that now we are married in Virginia,” Townley said. “When I woke up this morning we weren’t, and now we are.”
Of her three young sons, she said: “I don’t know who they will turn out to love. If they turn out to love someone of their own gender I want them to be safe and free and happy.”
Wearing white and cream wedding dresses topped with blazers, Schall and Townley exchanged vows while their daughter, 16, watched and wiped away tears.
“This is a historic and long overdue moment for our Commonwealth and our country,” Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) said in a statement. “On issues ranging from recognizing same-sex marriage to extending health-care benefits to same-sex spouses of state employees, Virginia is already well-prepared to implement this historic decision. Going forward we will act quickly to continue to bring all of our policies and practices into compliance so that we can give marriages between same-sex partners the full faith and credit they deserve.”
“Now,” Emily said just before the ceremony, “Virginia is a state for all lovers.”
“Equality for all men and women regardless of their race, color, creed or sexual orientation is intrinsic to the values that make us Virginians, and now it is officially inscribed in our laws as well,” he said.
In Fairfax, Yvonne Landis and Melodie Mayo had nearly given up the hope of marrying in their home state.
Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring (D), who refused to defend the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, held a news conference in front of the Arlington County courthouse to announce that couples can begin to marry immediately.
Landis, 58, has heart problems that have become serious enough she felt an imperative to get married, so Mayo, 50, could participate in health-care decisions and be with her during care. That led them to plan a ceremony in Delaware, which legalized gay marriage a year ago.
“This is the outcome that we have hoped for, it is the outcome that we have fought for and it is the outcome that the Constitution requires,” he said. “Today’s decision will change the lives of thousands of loving couples, their children and their families in a positive and transformative way.”
The two had met at a friend’s New Year’s Eve party in 1991. Mayo, who works in computers, was drawn to Landis’s playfulness and sweetness, while Landis, a health instructor, fell for Mayo’s smile. They had a commitment ceremony in Fairfax in 1995.
House Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) accused Herring of putting his political views ahead of his responsibility to uphold the law as written.
On Monday, the couple had only come to the courthouse to get a marriage license, but after they got the document they saw a Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax minister, Laura Horton-Ludwig. They seized the moment.
Herring’s actions “represent a dangerous threat to the rule of law, show disregard for the oath of office and demonstrate contempt for the legislative and democratic processes by which Virginians adopt their laws,” Howell said.
“We were going to see if you could marry us,” Landis asked the minister.
A supporter of what he called “traditional marriage,” Howell said the Supreme Court’s decision today will foster uncertainty.
“Oh, great!” Horton-Ludwig replied.
“The Court’s decision today leaves Virginians without an affirmative answer on this issue, unnecessarily prolonging the political debate and creating long-term uncertainty regarding the status of same-sex marriages in Virginia depending on the outcome of litigation in other parts of the country,” he said.
A stranger sitting on a bench nearby became teary-eyed. “Can I watch?” he asked.
State Del. Bob Marshall (R-Prince William), co-author of the state’s marriage ban, decried the move in a statement and predicted that “marriage will soon include polygamy, or threesomes, leaving innocent children to suffer the consequences.”
Just inside the Arlington County courthouse on Monday, Circuit Court Clerk Paul Ferguson explained to Jennifer Melsop and Erika Turner, both 26, what would come next.
Victoria Cobb, president of the Family Foundation of Virginia, said she believes the status of same-sex marriage in Virginia should never have been up to the judicial branch to begin with.
“We have someone who offered to pay the $30 for the first couple,” he said.
“It’s disappointing that we’re even in the hands of the court, especially since the attorney general chose to not even defend the Constitution, the will of the people,” Cobb said at a news conference in Richmond. “We will continue to advocate for traditional marriage, and we believe strongly that every child deserves a mom and a dad whenever possible. And that’s really what’s at stake here.”
“We’re the first couple?” the women responded in stunned unison.
Cobb and other opponents of same-sex marriage noted that 57 percent of Virginia voters supported a 2006 amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman and forbidding recognition of such unions performed elsewhere.
Melsop had learned of the Supreme Court’s decision on Facebook that morning at 11 and headed to Arlington.
“When you’ve had over a million people who have had their vote tossed over to a judge, it really raises the question of what issue are we able to decide as a people that isn’t going to be affected by the court,” she said.
They had been together for four years. A year and a half ago, while they watched the Johnny Depp movie “Rango” on the couch, Melsop cracked open a fortune cookie and found Turner’s proposal inside. They had planned to wed in 2015 in the District, but couldn’t wait after Monday’s news.
The Supreme Court’s action brought an abrupt end to a case that conservatives in the Virginia House of Delegates had been gearing up to fight. When the legislature met in a special session on Medicaid expansion just last month, the House passed a resolution authorizing the speaker to hire an attorney to defend the state constitution or any laws that the attorney general chose not to defend.
They stepped off the elevator on the sixth floor. Ferguson showed them the form they’d need to fill out. The words “bride” and “groom” had been replaced with “spouse” and “spouse.”
The House had not yet hired a lawyer to represent it in the marriage case.
They filled it out and made their way back downstairs, where a throng of reporters waited outside to witness their ceremony. They embraced, arm in arm.
“We were looking at it. This certainly changes things,” said Mathew Moran, a spokesman for Howell.
“You better not cry,” Turner said. “We both put on waterproof mascara today.”
Former attorney general Ken Cuccinelli II (R) criticized the ruling, calling it “extremely disappointing, and leaves me wondering whether there is any area of state sovereignty left?” Cuccinelli said in an e-mail. “Do the people and the states get to decide anything for themselves under this federal government anymore?”
As they walked to the door, Melsop paused and turned to the woman who was about to become her wife. “Who’s going to hold our purses?”
Delegate Marcus Simon (D-Fairfax) said he would introduce legislation Monday that would formally repeal the ban.
Robert Barnes, Patricia Sullivan, Laura Vozzella, Julie Zauzmer and Rachel Weiner contributed to this report.
Couples living in Virginia who had married elsewhere exulted over their new legal status in their home state.
Kathryn Hamm, president of gayweddings.com, has been with her partner for more than 20 years. The couple had a wedding 15 years ago and, after the Supreme Court struck down a key part of the Defense of Marriage Act, eloped to the District in November.
Her partner, Amy Walter, 44, is in London on business, so instead of calling, Hamm texted her when the news broke this morning.
“We are officially married!!!!!!!!!!” Hamm, who lives in Arlington, texted.
Hamm, 45, said she expects to see a “wave of legal elopements” among same-sex couples.
“I would imagine that any couple who is paying attention and has seen this news is going to go celebrate,” Hamm said.
Jay Fisette, Arlington County Board chairman and the first openly gay person elected in Virginia, said when he was first elected in 1997 he had no idea that same-sex marriage would be legalized in his lifetime.
“I see it as a testament to the courage of people to be open and honest and the courage of others to listen and learn,” he said. “It’s also the persistent work of generations following years of pain and suffering that got us to this day. There’s still 30 to 40 percent of Americans without marriage equality and millions, millions of people around the world who are suffering” because they are gay.
Fisette married his partner, clinical psychologist Bob Rosen, in the District on Sept. 17, 2013, on their 30th anniversary. He said they haven’t had a chance to talk about whether to remarry in Virginia, “but this means our marriage will be recognized in our home state.”
Sen. Adam P. Ebbin (D-Alexandria), the first openly gay member of the General Assembly, said: “It’s a wonderful day. It’s great that Virginians have marriage equality today. We’re waking up from history faster than I could have imagined. It’s nice that this wave that’s crossing the country will now be finalized for Virginians.”
Ted Olson, one of lawyers who brought the Bostic v. Schaefer case that challenged Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage, said in deciding not to overturn or not to even review the decisions of circuit courts, he believes the Supreme Court will eventually grant the right federally.
“Soon, many, many, many more people in the United States who are gay and lesbian and wish to marry the person that they love, and who have been waiting so long to be treated equally under the United States constitution, will finally receive the benefit of equality, due process, equal dignity, and freedom and liberty that the Constitution guarantees to all citizens,” Olson said during a conference call with reporters.
Carol Schall and Mary Townley, one of the two couples who were plaintiffs in the original case, renewed their vows ceremonially on Monday afternoon at a news conference hosted by Herring.
The attorney general ticked off a list of rights and privileges newly afforded to Virginia same-sex couples like Schall and Townley, who married in California years ago. Couples in Virginia can now adopt children, join each other’s employer benefits, make medical decisions for each other, visit each other in the hospital, transfer an inheritance and file joint tax returns.
“For the first time legally in Virginia I can say that I’m here with my wife, Mary, and my daughter, Emily,” Schall told a crowd of reporters and supporters. “I don’t think there’s any more profound statement yet any more simple statement than for me to say that.”
“It’s just amazing that now we are married in Virginia. When I woke up this morning we weren’t and now we are,” Townley said as someone in the crowd yelled “Congratulations!”
Their 16-year-old daughter added: “Now Virginia is a state for all lovers.”
Wearing a white and cream wedding dresses topped by blazers, Schall and Townley exchanged vows while Emily watched and wiped away tears from her eyes.
Christy Berghoff — a plaintiff in another suit against the state’s same-sex marriage ban, which was filed in federal court in August 2013 — said that though she and her partner Victoria Kidd have also already been married, the decision brings an end to her double life.
“When I sit here working in D.C., I was always married. For the last three years, we’ve been married in D.C. and when I went home I was not married and it wasn’t recognized,” said Berghoff, who lives in Winchester in Frederick County. “I think it will be great when I go home tonight, when I cross over the Potomac, I will be still married.”
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) campaigned as governor against the ban on same-sex marriage and signed an executive order to ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, his office said.
“In letting the Fourth Circuit’s decision stand, the Supreme Court has given loving couples across the Commonwealth the freedom to marry,” he said. “I join countless Virginians in celebrating the end of the discriminatory constitutional ban that has denied same-sex couples this fundamental right. Today, we have taken a major step toward Jefferson’s ideal that ‘all men are created equal.’ ”
Sen. A. Donald McEachin (D–Henrico) also applauded the decision.
“I am very pleased and excited that gay Virginians will now be able to marry. This is a significant step forward in achieving justice and fairness for all. I eagerly await the day when it won’t matter what state a person lives in — when every American can marry the person he or she loves,” he said in a statement.
Robert Barnes, Justin Jouvenal, Laura Vozzella, Julie Zauzmer and Rachel Weiner contributed to this report.
