Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring says courts across the state will start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on Monday, following the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear a court case overturning Virginia’s 2006 ban on gay marriage.
The case, Bostic v. Rainey, was one of several cases overturning state bans on same-sex marriage that the Supreme Court declined to take up in its new term. That move makes effective a July order by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a lower court’s ruling that the ban is unconstitutional. The Fourth Circuit’s decision was stayed in August when the Supreme Court decided to consider Bostic v. Rainey, but with the case’s exclusion from the fall docket, the original ruling takes effect, clearing the way for county court clerks to start issuing marriage licenses to all couples.
On Twitter, Herring says his office is waiting for clearance from the Fourth Circuit, but that same-sex marriages should be able to begin at 1 PM today:
In rejecting the petitions for cert, SCOTUS has said that marriage equality is now the law of the land in the Commonwealth.
The plaintiffs in the Virginia case, couples from Norfolk and Prince William counties, were represented in part by Ted Olson and David Boies, the lawyers who led the 2013 Supreme Court case that overturned California’s same-sex marriage ban.
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
Same-Sex Marriages to Begin in Virginia Monday
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring says courts across the state will start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on Monday, following the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear a court case overturning Virginia’s 2006 ban on gay marriage.
The case, Bostic v. Rainey, was one of several cases overturning state bans on same-sex marriage that the Supreme Court declined to take up in its new term. That move makes effective a July order by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a lower court’s ruling that the ban is unconstitutional. The Fourth Circuit’s decision was stayed in August when the Supreme Court decided to consider Bostic v. Rainey, but with the case’s exclusion from the fall docket, the original ruling takes effect, clearing the way for county court clerks to start issuing marriage licenses to all couples.
On Twitter, Herring says his office is waiting for clearance from the Fourth Circuit, but that same-sex marriages should be able to begin at 1 PM today:
The plaintiffs in the Virginia case, couples from Norfolk and Prince William counties, were represented in part by Ted Olson and David Boies, the lawyers who led the 2013 Supreme Court case that overturned California’s same-sex marriage ban.
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
Editors' Picks
Is DC Being Too Mean to Louise Linton?
Which Washington-Area Neighborhoods Will Boom Next?
Why This Is the Golden Age of DC Grocery Shopping
The Ultimate Guide to DC’s Cherry Blossoms
Most Popular
May 2018: Jeff Bezos in D.C.
Subscribe
Related Posts
What We Lost When We Lost Hank Dietle’s
WJLA’s TV Legends Are Vanishing. Does It Matter?
In Defense of 2016
There Are Still Six Confederate Memorials Around DC. How’s That Possible?
More from News
What Do the French Think of Trump and Macron’s Bromance?
Here’s How Capital One Arena Transforms When Both the Capitals and the Wizards are in the Playoffs
This Innovative Suburb Once Seemed Like a Failure
I Lost My Phone and All My Photos (No, They Weren’t Backed Up). What I Learned Surprised Me.