Dear members of the general assembly, I’m a licensed professional counselor and counselor educator working and serving communities, particularly LGBTQ+ individuals and relationships, in Virginia for the past decade. I’m writing to you to share my story about my family. My wife and I started our relationship in 2018 and got married in 2019. We worked hard and deeply desired to build our family. In 2021, we began our family planning journey as an LGBTQ+ couple. In 2022, we welcomed our son who is the biggest gift life can give. Our ability to be married greatly helped us in achieving our dreams as my wife was able to adopt our son in 2023. We all deserve the right to marry and build families and communities that support one another. Protecting the right to marry for LGBTQ+ individuals is a human right. When the judge asked us if there was anything we wanted to share about the adoption order, all we could muster was how grateful we are for this opportunity. Please protect our right to marry and keep LGBTQ+ families whole. Thank you!

I am in support of these Bills as a Virginia resident and voter.

I strongly support HJ3. This amendment would repeal the ban on same-sex marriage and affirm the lawful and equal status of adults' marriages, regardless of sex, gender, or race. David Popenoe, a conservative and an authority on the benefits of marriage, supports same-sex marriage. He makes a strong case that society benefits from stable families. Marriage, regardless of spouses' sex, promotes family stability. Individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation, should have equal rights, including the right to marry.

As an almost lifelong Virginian, I would like to express my full support for each of these proposed bills/amendments.

I am a member of Equality UUCA which is a part of the 650-member congregation of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington. Our focus is to represent LGBTQIA+ matters from the perspective of our faith. We urge repeal of the existing marriage amendment to the Constitution prohibiting marriage between same sex couples to be replaced by the proposed affirmative right to marriage. Please vote yes on HJ3. A guiding principle and value of our Unitarian Universalist faith is to affirm the inherent worthiness and dignity of all people. Marriage equality in effect for a decade has proven the wisdom of our principle. Marriage equality is good for families and good for the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth can ill afford to take the risk of losing the many benefits of same sex marriage by an ill-considered future federal court decision. The time is now to remove this cruel anachronism from the Virginia Constitution, to recognize the clear will of the people of Virginia, and to affirm the thousands of same sex marriages that already exist and those that will exist in the future.

I urge repeal of the existing marriage amendment to the Constitution prohibiting marriage between same sex couples to be replaced by the proposed affirmative right to marriage. Please vote yes on HJ3. Marriage equality is good for families and good for the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth can ill afford to take the risk of losing the many benefits of same sex marriage by an ill-considered future federal court decision. The time is now to remove this cruel anachronism from the Virginia Constitution, to recognize the clear will of the people of Virginia, and to affirm the thousands of same sex marriages that already exist and those that will exist in the future. Thank you. Carol Lewis

My husband and I have been together as a same sex couple for 40 years, the last 12 of which have been under a legal marriage performed in Maryland before Virginia would do so. My husband is a lifelong Virginia resident, as was his mother, and I have been a Virginia resident since beginning my attendance at the University of Virginia more than 50 years ago. Our quality of life was immeasurably improved from the day we could become legally united. Respect, worthiness, and dignity are important life values that legal marriage affirms. We lived through the horror of the Marshall Newman amendment's denial of our humanity and existence. Friends urged us to leave the Commonwealth to establish residence and pay taxes in a place that respected us. We held faith that our home state would eventually do the right thing and continue to hold hope that the Commonwealth will remove this remaining legal uncertainty for us. Please vote yes to advance HJ3 to a referendum.

I represent Equality UUCA which is a part of the 650-member congregation of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington. Our focus is to represent LGBTQIA+ matters from the perspective of our faith. We urge repeal of the existing marriage amendment to the Constitution prohibiting marriage between same sex couples to be replaced by the proposed affirmative right to marriage. Please vote yes on HJ3. A guiding principle and value of our Unitarian Universalist faith is to affirm the inherent worthiness and dignity of all people. Marriage equality in effect for a decade has proven the wisdom of our principle. Marriage equality is good for families and good for the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth can ill afford to take the risk of losing the many benefits of same sex marriage by an ill considered future federal court decision. The time is now to remove this cruel anachronism from the Virginia Constitution, to recognize the clear will of the people of Virginia, and to affirm the thousands of same sex marriages that already exist and those that will exist in the future.