The Arlington County Board passed a resolution Wednesday evening stating its opposition to a proposed amendment to the Virginia Bill of Rights that the board said would limit the types of benefits unmarried couples can receive.

County Board Member Jay Fisette said the amendment — known as the “marriage amendment” — is being sold by Republican backers in the General Assembly as a ban on gay marriage. However, he said the amendment could have broad implications for domestic partnerships, whether the couple is heterosexual or homosexual.

Virginia voters will be asked whether to add the amendment to the Commonwealth’s Bill of Rights this November.

“The resolution lays out numerous concerns we have, not the least of which is that it is deceptive in its title and much broader in its interpretation. It has implications for straight and gay couples,” Fisette said.

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The resolution states that the amendment would, “in effect, create a constitutional bar to any legal recognition of unmarried relationships for both same- and different-sex couples, including a permanent prohibition on the ability of County government and the School system to offer benefits — such as health insurance — to unmarried employees that would be equal to those offered to married employees.”

Fisette said he is part of a statewide partnership called the Commonwealth Coalition that stands in opposition to the amendment. He said the group is working to differentiate the amendment from similar measures passed in 20 other states.

“Similar amendments have sprouted up around the country to generate political turnout from social conservatives,” Fisette said. “This one is throwing in the kitchen sink. It’s very different than any other enacted. It’s more expansive with more implications than other constitutional amendment passed in other states.”

dfrancis@dcexaminer.com