Same-sex marriage in West Virginia has been legal since October 9, 2014. It was previously banned by state statute. A 2014 ruling by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals that found Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional is binding precedent on courts in West Virginia. On October 9, 2014, West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin announced he was ordering state agencies to act in compliance with the recent decisions of federal courts on the unconstitutionality of same-sex marriage bans. The state started issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on that same day.