Sen. Jennifer Boysko

Commending the Honorable Gayl Y. Branum Carr.

Constitutional amendment (first reference);qualifications of voters; right to vote; persons not entitled tovote. Provides that every person who meets the qualificationsof voters set forth in the Constitution of Virginia shall have thefundamental right to vote in the Commonwealth and that such rightshall not be abridged by law, except for persons who have been convictedof a felony and persons who have been adjudicated to lack the capacityto understand the act of voting. A person who has been convicted ofa felony shall not be entitled to vote during any period of incarcerationfor such felony conviction, but upon release from incarceration forthat felony conviction and without further action required of him,such person shall be invested with all political rights, includingthe right to vote. Currently, in order to be qualified to vote aperson convicted of a felony must have his civil rights restoredby the Governor or other appropriate authority. The amendment also provides that a person adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdictionas lacking the capacity to understand the act of voting shall notbe entitled to vote during this period of incapacity until his capacityhas been reestablished as prescribed by law. Currently, the Constitutionof Virginia provides that a person who has been adjudicated to bementally incompetent is not qualified to vote until his competencyis reestablished.

Constitutional amendment (first reference);fundamental right to reproductive freedom. Provides that everyindividual has the fundamental right to reproductive freedom andthat the right to make and effectuate one's own decisions about allmatters related to one's pregnancy cannot be denied, burdened, orotherwise infringed upon by the Commonwealth, unless justified bya compelling state interest and achieved by the least restrictivemeans. The amendment prohibits the Commonwealth from penalizing, prosecuting, or otherwise taking adverse action against an individualfor exercising the individual's right to reproductive freedom orfor aiding another individual in the exercise of such right, unlessjustified by a compelling state interest.

Constitutional amendment (first reference); marriage between two individuals; repeal of same-sex marriage prohibition; affirmative right to marry. Repeals the constitutional provision defining marriage as only a union between one man and one woman as well as the related provisions that are no longer valid as a result of the United States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015). The amendment provides that the right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of persons and prohibits the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions from denying the issuance of a marriage license to two parties contemplating a lawful marriage on the basis of the sex, gender, or race of such parties. The Commonwealth and its political subdivisions are required to recognize any lawful marriage between two parties and to treat such marriages equally under the law, regardless of the sex, gender, or race of such parties. The amendment provides that religious organizations and clergy acting in their religious capacity have the right to refuse to perform any marriage.