Appeals Court: Virginia Gay Marriage Ban Unconstitutional

A federal appeals court affirmed a judge’s ruling that Virginia’s ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional, extending a series of court victories from coast to coast for supporters of same-sex unions.

“The choice of whether and whom to marry is an intensely personal decision that alters the course of an individual’s life,” a 2-1 majority of circuit judges held. “Denying same- sex couples this choice prohibits them from participating fully in our society, which is precisely the type of segregation that the Fourteenth Amendment cannot countenance.”

To contact the reporter on this story: David E. Rovella in New York at drovella@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: David E. Rovella at drovella@bloomberg.net