WEST virginia legislature

2022 regular session

Introduced

House Bill 4509

By Delegates Thompson, Walker, Young, Skaff, Garcia, Diserio, Griffith, Barach, Hornbuckle, Fluharty, and Pushkin

[Introduced February 02, 2022; Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §48-2-101a, relating to marriages; and the necessity of interpretation of gender specific terms to be gender neutral and applicable to spouses regardless of gender.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 2. MARRIAGE

§48-2-101a.   Marriage Licenses Generally.

Marriage is a civil contract between two persons.  When necessary to determine the rights and responsibilities of spouses under the provisions of this chapter, gender specific terms such as husband and wife, man and woman, male and female, and he and she, must be construed to be gender neutral and applicable to spouses regardless of gender.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to acknowledge that marriage is a civil contract between two persons and to ensure that when necessary to implement the rights and responsibilities of spouses under the statute, gender specific terms related to marriage must be construed to be gender neutral and applicable to spouses, regardless of gender.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.