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Committee reports HJ3 to floor, proponents stress equality and opponents raise religious‑liberty concerns
Summary
House Joint Resolution 3 (marriage equality amendment) was reported out of committee following bipartisan patron remarks, extensive supportive testimony from civil‑rights groups and opponents’ testimony stressing religious‑liberty and definitional concerns; committee vote reported 16–6.
Chairman Sickls introduced HJ3 as a bipartisan constitutional amendment to enshrine marriage equality and remove exclusionary language adopted in 2006. "Love is a Virginia value," an ACLU representative told the committee, urging the measure as a necessary update to reflect current law and protect families.
Supporters including Equality Virginia, ACLU Virginia and several private citizens described the amendment as restoring stability and protecting marriages from future federal shifts. Joseph Papa and others described personal reasons for returning to Virginia once legal protections were in place.
Opponents including the Family Foundation and the Virginia Catholic Conference warned the amendment could alter legal definitions of sex and gender, and they said constitutional text could supersede statutory clergy protections; speakers asked for explicit clergy exemptions. The patron and supporters said statutory and First Amendment protections protect clergy and that the amendment would not compel religious officiants to act against conscience.
After questions and testimony, the committee moved and seconded a motion to report the resolution; the committee recorded a vote reporting HJ3 to the floor by 16–6.
