Breeze Perspectives: What you don’t know can, in fact, hurt you
The unintended consequences of the ‘marriage amendment’
By Richelle Plotz, contributing writer
Posted on October 19, 2006

In precisely 19 days, the Marshall-Newman amendment will be proposed to the Constitution. More commonly referred to as the marriage amendment, it unclearly outlines a prohibition of same-sex marriage and restricts “all civil unions, domestic partnerships and other legal agreements …  for any unmarried couples in Virginia.” At first glance, one might assume that Marshall-Newman is only invading the lives of gay men and women, but that is exactly what the writers were counting on you to believe. I am here to inform you that it will affect you, your family and your friends in some of the biggest ways you couldn’t imagine.

The short paragraph called Question No. 1 was handed over to a law firm and asked to draw up all the legal definitions and implications this may have for Virginians. Exactly 172 pages later, the document covered everything from inheritance rights, guardianship, domestic violence, property rights, civil rights, medical decisions, business benefits and insurance, and it also reinforces discrimination. 

It is so easy to think privacy exists among us. After class we all return to our places of residence and shut our bedroom doors behind us, a physical privacy nobody can take away. But the privacy to live your life and love whomever you choose is being heavily scrutinized and questioned by the Marshall-Newman amendment and its creators. 

Presently in Virginia, any unmarried couple can legally make guardianship, property and inheritance decisions about their children and for one another.

An unmarried man and woman have the right to leave a house to any family member upon death or disability. If Marshall-Newman passes, it would attempt to force the unmarried into marriage, even the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community, essentially for the legal goodie bags, thus fulfilling the sanctity of marriage. People who are in love for possibly 20 some-odd years are left with nothing when their significant other dies. With divorce rates teetering around 50 percent currently, a second marriage doesn’t appeal to many couples. With Marshall-Newman, those couples as well as many others, cannot share property, insurance or receive benefits from their jobs.

Most of us at JMU are at the age where we are not concerned about having children or getting married, we just want to get through the next several years with any shred of sanity left. The domestic violence portion could potentially affect many of reading this right now. As it stands, any person is legally protected under a restraining order. The implications of Marshall-Newman define domestic violence as an action solely committed under marriage and will only protect those that are married. No legal action will be taken for you unless you marry said abuser, then file a claim against them.

As often as it referred to as the marriage amendment, this is about more than marriage. This proposed amendment writes discrimination boldly across the election and is attempting to insert it back into our lives. When others gain, your rights are not reduced, civil rights is a win-win situation. There is no such thing as “special rights.” We are not awarding one man something over another just because of the color of his skin or religious affiliation. Such assumptions are absurd; if we are all human, how can special rights be awarded to someone who is just as human as you are? Privacy rights should not divided amongst only those fitting a certain lifestyle, every human being is awarded the right live and enjoy the blessings of liberty and justice as it was intended. Aren’t we turning back the hands of time by allowing Marshall-Newman to win?

Take advantage of the resources that college has to offer, educate yourself about this election and how it could directly affect you. Being politically active is not a chore, it is a privilege not many young adults in other countries get to practice. Listen to the wisdom of your elders, “respect exponential growth,” as my calculus professor states, get informed, tell a friend, tell two friends, tell them to tell two friends, and so on, so that by the time Nov. 7 rounds the corner, the entire campus will be buzzing and we will defeat Marshall-Newman before it even has a chance at life.

Richelle Plotz is a junior kinesiology and dietetics major.