West Virginia
West Virginia's state legislature successfully blocked an anti-gay constitutional amendment from advancing to a vote in past years. State advocacy groups continue to work towards ending the exclusion of same-sex couples and their families from marriage.
Status: Anti-Marriage Law, No Anti-Gay Constitutional Amendment
Groups Actively Working on Marriage
Fairness West Virginia: West Virginia's first state-wide LGBT advocacy organization dedicated to bringing fair treatment to all West Virginians.
Blog Posts Related to West Virginia
Stopping West Virginia’s anti-marriage equality amendment
For the sixth year in a row, West Virginia will be considering a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between “one man and one woman.”
Last Thursday, the WV Senate and House issued a joint resolution calling for a public vote on marriage in 2012.
Upcoming Summer for Marriage Events: GA, FL, NC, WV, PA, and DC
Freedom to Marry's Summer for Marriage Tour wraps up next week with events in Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C. The tour, which was originally organized in response to the National Organization for Marriage's anti-gay “One Man, One Woman” bus tour, has highlighted widespread support for the freedom to marry with supporters of equality outnumbering NOM’s supporters on all 16 stops thus far
Ban on Freedom to Marry Fails in West Virginia House
Democrats in the West Virginia House of Delegates on Tuesday swiftly shot down Republican attempts to advance a constitutional ban on the freedom to marry.
GOP delegates unsuccessfully tried to force a floor vote on a bipartisan resolution (HJR5) called the "Marriage Protection Amendment." The proposal calls for a statewide referendum on whether to amend West Virginia's constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman.
Resources Related to West Virginia
West Virginia Census Snapshot
Demographic and economic information about same-sex couples and same-sex couples raising children in West Virginia.
Geographic Trends Among Same-Sex Couples in the U.S. Census and the American Community Survey
Groundbreaking research showing a huge increase in same-sex couples identifying themselves as "unmarried partners".