Senate Bill No. 375
(By Senators Fanning, Ross, Sharpe, Deem, Boley, Schoonover,
Dittmar, Minard, Bailey and Plymale)
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[Introduced February 1, 1999;
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section twelve, article one, chapter
forty-eight of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to further amend said
article by adding thereto a new section, designated section
eighteen-a, all relating to marriage; definition; and same
sex marriages not given recognition.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twelve, article one, chapter forty-eight of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said article be
further amended by adding thereto a new section, designated
section eighteen-a, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. MARRIAGE.
§48-1-12. Persons authorized to celebrate marriages.
Any minister, priest or rabbi, over the age of eighteen
years, who has complied with the provisions of section twelve-a
of this article, or a judge of any court of record in this state,
is authorized to celebrate the rites of marriage in all the
counties of the state. No person, other than a minister, priest
or rabbi, who has complied with the provisions of section twelve- a of this article, or a judge of any court of record in this
state, shall hereafter celebrate the rites of marriage in this
state, anything in any act of the Legislature or of any court to
the contrary, notwithstanding. Celebration or solemnization of a
marriage means the performance of the formal act or ceremony by
which a man and woman contract marriage and assume the status of
husband and wife.
Wherever in this article the terms "minister," "priest" or
"rabbi" shall appear, the same shall be understood and held in
all respects to include, without being limited to, a leader or
representative of a generally recognized spiritual assembly,
church or religious organization which does not formally
designate or recognize persons as ministers, priests or rabbis.
§48-1-18a. Certain acts, records, and proceedings not to be
given effect in this state.
A public act, record or judicial proceeding of any other
state, territory, possession or tribe respecting a relationship
between persons of the same sex that is treated as a marriage
under the laws of any other state, territory, possession or tribe
or a right or claim arising from the relationship, shall not be
given effect by this state.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish the West
Virginia Defense of Marriage Act. It would prohibit the
recognition of same sex marriages from other states or
territories.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.
Section eighteen-a is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.