• Lexington
  • Rockbridge
  • Buena Vista
  • Sports
  • Business
  • Regional
  • In-Depth Reporting
  • About Us
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Rockbridge Report
Rockbridge Report
Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn
  • Lexington
  • Rockbridge
  • Buena Vista
  • Sports
  • Business
  • Regional
  • In-Depth Reporting
  • About Us
Saturday, September 30
Rockbridge Report
Home»Buena Vista»Federal judge finds Virginia marriage application requirement unconstitutional

Federal judge finds Virginia marriage application requirement unconstitutional

October 17, 20193 Mins Read

By Elizabeth Bell

 

A Washington and Lee couple, who fought to change a Virginia law that requires couples to disclose their race on their marriage license application, is getting married on Saturday– and they didn’t have to disclose their race to get their marriage license.

 

A federal judge ruled on Friday that a Virginia law requiring couples to disclose their race on their marriage license application is unconstitutional and violates the Fourteenth Amendment.

 

This ruling was made after Brandyn Churchill and Sophie Rogers, along with two other couples who were denied marriage licenses in Rockbridge or Arlington County, filed a federal lawsuit on Sept. 5.

 

Rogers is a second-year student at the W&L School of Law. Churchill graduated from W&L in 2014 and is now a doctoral student at Vanderbilt University.

Brandyn Churchill and Sophie Rogers are getting married this Saturday. (Christopher Genty Photography)

Churchill and Rogers said they were shocked by the list of races provided by the clerk’s office in Rockbridge County when they tried to apply for a marriage license for their Oct. 19 wedding.

 

State law required them to choose their race from the county’s three-page list of races that included terms like “Aryan,” “Hindu,” “Islamic,” “Mulatto” and “Octoroon.”

 

“We asked to see a list of the acceptable races and that’s when they gave us that horrendously long list with all of those terrible options, and it was just horrifying and shocking,” Rogers said in an interview.

 

Now, when couples apply for a marriage license, they can select a “declined to answer” box instead of disclosing their race. The Rockbridge Circuit Court clerk’s office will also allow couples to write in whatever race they identify as, instead of requiring them to choose from the previous list of options.

 

Requiring couples “to disclose their race in order to receive a marriage license violates their fundamental right to marry,” Judge Rossie D. Alston wrote in his ruling.

 

Rogers and Churchill became involved in the lawsuit through a professor at the W&L School of Law, who knows the attorney representing all three couples, Victor Glasberg.

 

This lawsuit, which was filed 50 years after the U.S. Supreme Court declared Virginia’s laws against interracial marriage to be unconstitutional, challenged a law that enabled Virginia to enforce its interracial marriage ban.

 

The Virginia Racial Integrity Act of 1924, which requires applicants to label their race on their marriage license, reflects “Virginia’s historical repression of non-white persons,” the lawsuit says.

 

The law is a remnant of “the nation’s and of Virginia’s history of codified racialization,” Alston wrote in his ruling.

 

“There’s no reason why this law should still be in effect in 2019,” Rogers said. “It’s a remnant of Jim Crow and it’s a disgrace that Virginia still maintains it.”

 

Couples in seven other states are still required to disclose their race on their marriage application. Connecticut, Delaware, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Alabama have laws similar to Virginia’s.

“It would be fantastic if other states that are in this position follow suit,” Rogers said. “I think broadly it’s just good to continue the conversations that we’ve been having about racial discrimination and how to end that.”

While Virginia now allows applicants to choose whether to list their race and whether they identify as a “bride,” “groom,” or “spouse,” there is no “declined to answer” box that allows applicants to opt out of identifying their sex.

 

Related

Sept. 8, 2023 Newscast

rockbridgereport

The commonwealth’s attorney for Rockbridge Count The commonwealth’s attorney for Rockbridge County and Lexington said he wants victims of sexual assault at Washington and Lee University to seek help from police and prosecutors who can investigate and file criminal charges. 

In the past month, two former W&L students have faced sexual assault charges.

Read Ned Newton’s full story on our website, rockbridgereport.wlu.edu.
Lexington’s City Council has given the go-ahead Lexington’s City Council has given the go-ahead for a developer to begin drafting plans to build apartments off Spotswood Drive. 

The new permit approval comes after months of controversy about the design. 

Read Andrew Arnold’s full story on our website, rockbridgereport.wlu.edu.
A new, 24-hour EMS crew will help in providing bac A new, 24-hour EMS crew will help in providing backup services to Glasgow and other nearby cities and towns.

For more details on the new EMS crew, visit: https://youtu.be/k03HNBKB978.
Buddy, the horse, and Police Chief Angela Greene l Buddy, the horse, and Police Chief Angela Greene led the Lexington Christmas Parade. Buddy is one of the future Mounted Police Unit horses working with the Lexington police. 

Watch Buddy and the latest broadcast of the Rockbridge Report: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDZ4A6xuk-4
A developer sought final city approval this week t A developer sought final city approval this week to build 62 apartment units on Lexington’s Spotswood Drive.

Echelon Resources went before the city’s planning commission Thursday to request a permit allowing the developer company to construct multi-family housing at the Spotswood site. The planning commission will offer a recommendation for approval or denial to the Lexington City Council. The city council will likely have a final vote on the permit in early January.

The proposal received some pushback from Lexington residents who fear the development will significantly increase traffic, impede the local hospital, or strain the city’s water and sewer systems. 

For more details on the Spotswood proposal visit: https://rockbridgereport.academic.wlu.edu/2022/12/08/spotswood-drive-apartment-complex-moves-forward/
Lexington’s city manager is searching for a full Lexington’s city manager is searching for a full-time city attorney. The previous city attorney, Jared Jenkins, no longer serves in the position following his split from Mann Legal Group.

Learn more by visiting the Rockbridge Report website: https://rockbridgereport.academic.wlu.edu/2022/12/08/lexington-replaces-city-attorney/
Two students at Virginia Military Institute and Wa Two students at Virginia Military Institute and Washington and Lee University posted bomb threats on anonymous social media platforms last week.

After investigations, both posts proved to be false alarms. Disciplinary measures for the students are unclear. 

Read the full story here: https://rockbridgereport.academic.wlu.edu/2022/12/08/two-university-bomb-threats-posted-on-anonymous-social-media-proved-false/
Local nonprofits, like the Rockbridge Area Relief Local nonprofits, like the Rockbridge Area Relief Association (RARA) and Washington and Lee’s Campus Kitchen, will provide extra support for families facing food insecurity during the holidays.

Read more about this on the Rockbridge Report website: https://rockbridgereport.academic.wlu.edu/2022/12/08/community-groups-to-offer-food-to-students-and-their-families-during-holiday-break/
“Normal people can’t afford that." Lexington “Normal people can’t afford that."

Lexington is Stacey Dickerson-Suggs’ hometown, but the single mother can’t afford to live here. Virginia house prices are going up about 10% each year. In Lexington, the median price of a home has increased 27% in the past year.

Read more about this on the Rockbridge Report website: https://rockbridgereport.academic.wlu.edu/2022/12/08/lexington-renters-buyers-cant-find-affordable-housing/
Load More... Follow on Instagram
Twitter
My Tweets
Reporters

Luke Fountain

Jenny Hellwig

Jak Krouse

Emma Malinak

Fraley Williams

Producers

Christian Basnight

Jack Hunter

Teddy Jacobsen

Ned Newton

Billy Queally

 

Supervisors

Kevin Finch

Alecia Swasy

Michael Todd

Rockbridge Report
© 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

Go to mobile version
 

Loading Comments...