• Civil marriage equality in effect at the state level since 2014. (Same-sex couples may legally marry.)
• The Attorney General will respect SCOTUS' October 6th decision and is taking steps to conclude the litigation in McGee, under LAWSUiTS-PENDING below. 

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

• A state statute defined marriage between a man and a woman. 
• In 2009, a bill that would amend the constitution to ban same-sex marriage in the state,The Marriage Protection Amendment, was overwhelmingly voted down by the House of Delegates. All 29 House Republicans and 1 Democrat had voted, unsuccessfully, to move the measure out of committee. The amendment was heavily supported by religious Evangelical groups in the state, and by the Family Council Policy of West Virginia. 
• In 2010, The Marriage Protection Amendment was re-introduced in both the House of Delegates and the Senate. Republican efforts to discharge the measure from the House Constitutional Revision Committee were defeated. The amendment was later defeated in the Senate.
• In December 2011, Delegate John Doyle introduced a bill to legalize civil unions in West Virginia as one of his last acts before his 2012 retirement. It was submitted to the House of Delegates in February 2012 where it died without a vote.
• Prior to marriage, West Virginia extended hospital visitation rights to same-sex couples through a "designated visitor" statute.
• There are no statewide protections for sexual orientation or gender identity.
• Per SCOTUS' denial of cert in Virginia's Bostic, on 6 October 2014, West Virginia legalized marriage equality at the state level on 9 October 2014.