UNITEDSTATESDISTRICT

COURT

FOR

THE

EASTERNDISTRICTOFVIRGINIA

NorfolkDivision

TIMOTHY

B.

BOSTIC,

TONY

C.

LONDON,CAROLSCHALL,

and

MARY

TOWNLEY,

Plaintiffs,

v.

CivilNo.2:13cv395

JANET

M.RAINEY,inherofficialcapacity

asStateRegistrar

of

VitalRecords,and

GEORGE

E.

SCHAEFER,

III,inhisofficial

capacityastheClerk

of

CourtforNorfolk

CircuitCourt,

Defendants;

and

MICHELEB.McQUIGG,in

her

officialcapacity

asPrinceWilliamCountyClerk

of

CircuitCourt,

Intervenor-Defendant.

We

madeacommitmenttoeachotherinourloveandlives,andnowhadthelegal

commitment,

calledmarriage,to

match.

Isn

 t

thatwhatmarriageis?...Ihave

livedlong

enough

nowtoseebig

changes.

The

oldergeneration sfearsandprejudiceshavegiven

way,

andtoday syoungpeoplerealize

that

if

someone

lovessomeonetheyhavearightto

marry.

SurroundedasIamnowbywonderful

children

and

grandchildren,

notadaygoesby

that

Idon t

think

of

Richard

andour

love,

our

right

to

marry,

andhow

much

it

meant

tometohave

that

freedomto

marrythe

personpreciousto

me,

even

if

others

thought

hewas

the

 wrongkind

of

person formeto

marry.

Ibelieveall

Americans,

no

matter

their

race,

no

mattertheirsex,nomattertheir

sexual

orientation,

should

havethat

same

freedom

to

marry.

Government

hasnobusinessimposingsomepeople sreligious

beliefsoverothers....Isupportthefreedomtomarry

for

all.That swhat

Loving,

and

loving,are

all

about.

-

MildredLoving,

 Loving

for

All 1

1

MildredLoving,Loving

forAll,

Public

Statement

onthe40thAnniversary

of

Loving

v.

Virginia

(June12,

2007).

Case 2:13-cv-00395-AWA-LRL Document 136 Filed 02/14/14 Page 1 of 41 PageID# 1085

 

 MEN E

OPINION

 N OR ER

Aspiritedandcontroversialdebateisunderwayregardingwhomayenjoytherightto

marryintheUnitedStates

of

America.Americahaspursuedajourneytomakeandkeepourcitizensfree.Thisjourneyhasneverbeeneasy,andattimeshasbeenpainfulandpoignant.The

ultimateexercise

of

our

freedomischoice.

Our

Declaration

of

Independencerecognizesthat allmen arecreatedequal.Surelythismeansall

of

us.Whileever-vigilantforthewisdomthatcan

comefromthevoices

of

ourvotingpublic,ourcourtshaveneverlongtoleratedtheperpetuation

of

lawsrootedinunlawfulprejudice.One

of

thejudiciary snoblestendeavorsistoscrutinize

lawsthatemergefromsuchroots.BeforethisCourtarechallengestoVirginia slegislatedprohibitiononsame-sex

marriage.Plaintiffsassertthattherestrictionontheirfreedomtochoosetomarrytheperson

theyloveinfringesontherightstodueprocessandequalprotectionguaranteedtothemunder

theFourteenthAmendment

of

theUnitedStatesConstitution.Thesechallengesarewell-taken.

I

CKGROUND

 

Procedural

History

PlaintiffsTimothyB.BosticandTonyC.Londonaretwomenwhohavebeenunableto

obtain

a

marriagelicense

to

marry

each

other

in

Virginiabecause

of

Virginia s

Marriage

Laws 2

OnJuly18,2013,Mr.BosticandMr.LondonfiledaComplaintpursuantto42U.S.C.§1983againstformerGovernorRobertF.McDonnell,formerAttorneyGeneralKennethT.Cuccinelli,

andGeorgeE.SchaeferIIIinhisofficialcapacityastheClerk

of

CourtforNorfolkCircuitCourt

(ECFNo.1).ThisComplaintsoughtdeclaratoryandinjunctivereliefregardingthetreatment

of

same-sexmarriagesintheCommonwealth

of

VirginiaundertheVirginiaConstitutionandthe

 Unlessotherwisenoted, Virginia sMarriageLaws refertoArticleI,Section15-A

 

theVirginiaConstitution,

thestatutoryprovisionscitedherein,andanyotherlawrelatingtomarriagewithintheCommonwealth

 

Virginia.

Case 2:13-cv-00395-AWA-LRL Document 136 Filed 02/14/14 Page 2 of 41 PageID# 1086

 

VirginiaCode.TheComplaintalsoaskedthisCourttofindArticleI,Section15-A

of

the

VirginiaConstitutionandSections20-45.2,20-45.3

of

theVirginiaCodeunconstitutionalunder

theDueProcessClauseandtheEqualProtectionClause

of

theFourteenthAmendment.

OnSeptember3,2013,Mr.BosticandMr.LondonfiledanAmendedComplaint

dismissing

the

former

Governor

andthe

formerAttorneyGeneral

as

defendants.3

The

Amended

Complaintaddedtwoplaintiffs,CarolSchallandMaryTownley.PlaintiffsMr.Bostic,Mr.

London,Ms.SchallandMs.Townleyarehereincollectivelyreferredtoas Plaintiffs. Onenew

defendantwasaddedintheAmendedComplaint:Ms.JanetRainey,inherofficialcapacityas

StateRegistrar

of

VitalRecords.Ms.RaineyandMr.Schaeferarecollectivelyreferredtoas

 Defendants.

Thepartiesadvancedcrossmotionsseekingsummaryjudgment(ECFNos.25,38,40),

andPlaintiffsalsofiledaMotionforPreliminaryInjunction(ECFNo.27).Thesemotionswere

thesubject

of

ahearingconductedbeforethisCourtonFebruary4,2014.

Twomotionsforleavetofile

amicicuriae

briefsinsupport

of

Defendants motionswere

filed

andgranted.Additionally,Ms.Michele

McQuigg

( Intervenor-Defendant )movedto

interveneasadefendantinherofficialcapacityasPrinceWilliamCountyClerk

of

CircuitCourt,andthiswasgrantedinpartonJanuary21,2014.

OnJanuary23,2014,Defendant

Rainey,

inconjunctionwiththeOfficeoftheAttorney

General,submittedaformalchangeinposition,andrelinquishedherpriordefense

of

Virginia sMarriageLaws.Intervenor-DefendantwasgrantedleavetoadoptMs.Rainey spriormotionand

briefsinsupport

of

thatmotion.

3

After

those

parties

were

dismissed

as

defendants,

then-pending

motions

to

dismiss

from

thoseparties

were

dismissedasmoot.

Case 2:13-cv-00395-AWA-LRL Document 136 Filed 02/14/14 Page 3 of 41 PageID# 1087