For the sixth year in a row, West Virginia legislators are considering a public vote on a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between “one man and one woman.” The Marriage Protection Amendment will force the state to ban all recognition of marriages, civil unions, and domestic partnerships between same-sex couples. It reads:

 “Only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by this state and its political subdivisions. This state and its political subdivisions shall not create or recognize a legal status for same-sex relationships to which is assigned the rights, benefits, obligations, qualities or effects of marriage.”

 The state already has a law banning the recognition of any sort of same-sex relationship, but the WV Republican caucus made enshrining marriage inequality in their constitution one of their top five issues of the year. The language of the bill will also prohibit municipalities from giving benefits to same-gender spouses.

 The West Virginia Family Foundation, with help from other organizations, is doing their best to ban recognition of same-gender relationships.  One of their co-conspirators, the Family Policy Council of West Virginia, has delivered 6,000 anti-marriage petitions to the state legislature.

We need everyone’s help. We cannot let one more state write discrimination into its constitution. Spend a few seconds fighting back by signing this petition.