Didn't Change Your Name After Marriage? You're Breaking The Law.

U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS —Women across the territory are breaking the law and Senator Alma Francis Heyliger wants to do something about it. She's not looking to lock anyone up, instead, she says it's time to change the law.

Section 61 of Title 16 of US Virgin Island Code states that once married, “the wife shall bear the surname of her husband.” Calling the code "antiquated," Sen. Heyliger wants the law amended to replace "shall" with "may."

Addressing the Committee on Rules and Judiciary on Friday, June 25, Heyliger pointed out that many women, including Vice President Kamala Harris and Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett, choose to use their family surname after establishing a career for themselves.

Although it is unclear if this law has ever been enforced, and what the punishment would be if it were enforced, Heyliger said, “I just want to fix the law so that V.I. women are not breaking the law.” She suggested changing the law so that either party in the marriage has the right to use the other’s surname.

Vice President Harris and Delegate Plaskett use their given names. Senator Heyliger uses her name as well as her husband's.

The suggestion did not come without pushback. Sen. Steven Payne indicated that modifying the language could benefit men who don't want to care for their children, alluding that if the children don't have their father's last name, the men would be even less inclined to care for them. “I’m a little bit old-fashioned,” he added.

Committee members agreed to discuss the bill at a later date. Heyliger suggested that a better solution might be to simply remove the controversial sentence from the V.I. code entirely.

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