It’s not easy to amend Virginia’s constitution, but Democrats in the House of Delegates took the first step to amend it three times Tuesday.
“What we want to do is put these amendments before Virginia voters,” Democratic Majority Leader Delegate Charniele Herring told reporters after the House enshrined abortion protections, rolled back a ban on same-sex marriage and gave the formerly felons the right to vote. “I trust Virginia voters and it seems like the other side of the aisle does not.”
The votes followed hours of contentious speeches with the abortion effort being the most dramatic.
“This resolution obliterates parental rights [and is] more extreme than Roe,” warned Republican Delegate Mark Early, calling the effort another “extreme Democratic abortion” law. “If you wanted to cut parents out of the process… this amendment would be the way to do it.”
But Herring said parental rights aren’t part of the effort and Republicans said it would lead to legal challenges, but Democratic Delegate Candi Mundon King said such concerns were overblown in the face of women’s lives being threatened.
“It’s extreme to make a 14-year-old carry her rapist’s baby. It’s extreme to bring an abortion ban without exceptions like you did last year,” Mundon King said of a particularly embarrassing incident during the 2024 session. She also dinged rural Republican’s complaints in the face of declining health care access in the region.
“You’ve allowed your districts to become maternal health care deserts,” she said. “That’s extreme.”
Notably every Republican voted against the abortion amendment, including Republican Delegates Carrie Coyner and David Owen. Both are located in some of the most vulnerable districts going into the 2025 House of Delegate election, but Coyner said she too was concerned about parental rights: “This amendment does not protect our children.”
On the felon rights amendment, some Republicans worried about victims not being considered when a felon’s rights were restored. Among those who voted against the measure is Republican Paul Milde. A former felon himself, he said the amendment failed to make crime victims whole.
“We believe in second chances, but these chances are earned, not handed out,” he said.
But Delegate Cia Price pushed back and pointed to President-elect Donald Trump.
“In six days, a convicted felon will become president… the victims of those 34 felonies have not been restored, there was no time served.” she said. “The hypocrisy is not lost on us or the Virginians who are watching. Let’s get this on the ballot.”
Delegate Marcus Simon also went back and researched the creation of the felon voting ban. Virginia is lone among states that don't allow felon voting, and he said it was the idea of then-Senator Carter Glass who wanted to "eliminate the darky as a political factor."
The measure passed with some Republican support.
Finally, the same-sex marriage amendment offered less debate, though Republicans feared those who oppose same-sex marriage would be forced to perform ceremonies.
Delegate Mark Sickles, patron of the measure and one of the few openly gay elected officials in the Virginia legislature, said the state’s religious freedom amendment would offer those needed protections. Notably the effort passed with the largest majority, 58 votes in favor with two abstentions.
The Senate is also working on its versions of the amendments, though by Tuesday afternoon the language on all three matched meaning another hearing wouldn’t be required in the House.
The next step requires passage in both chambers next year before it heads to the ballot and a popular vote. But offered this warning before it gets to that point.
“I’m more concerned if we win the election this fall. Because if we don’t win the election, which I think we will, the voters will have the chance to see this,” he said.
Governor Glenn Youngkin said he’d leave the constitutional dispute up to his legislative counterparts as the executive has no role in the process.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
