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1996 SESSION
962300136Patrons-- Brickley, Barlow, Connally, Cooper, Cunningham, Davies, Keating, Scott and Watts; Senators: Barry, Colgan, Saslaw and Waddell
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered 20-16.01 as follows:
§ 20-16.01. Application for marriage license to contain spousal abuse statement. Beginning January 1, 1997, any application for a marriage license shall disclose to the parties for whom the application is made on the upper one-half of the application the following in bold capital letters at least equal in size to the letters used in the wording of the application questions:
THE LAWS OF THE COMMONWEALTH AFFIRM YOUR RIGHT TO ENTER INTO THIS MARRIAGE AS AN EQUAL PARTNER AND AT THE SAME TIME LIVE WITHIN YOUR MARRIAGE FREE FROM VIOLENCE AND ABUSE. NEITHER OF YOU IS THE PROPERTY OF THE OTHER. PHYSICAL ABUSE, SEXUAL ABUSE, BATTERY AND ASSAULT OF A SPOUSE OR OTHER FAMILY MEMBER, AS WELL AS OTHER PROVISIONS OF THE CRIMINAL LAWS OF THIS COMMONWEALTH, ARE APPLICABLE TO SPOUSES AND OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS AND VIOLATIONS THEREOF ARE PUNISHABLE BY LAW.