Virginia poised to become ‘most anti-gay state’

[JI7]

<Adam Ebbin knows he must pick his battles in the Virginia General Assembly carefully. As the only openly gay lawmaker in the state legislature, he cannot effectively fight each of the growing list of anti-gay bills.

But this week, after listening to conservative lawmakers claim that gays are destroying heterosexual marriages, the freshman delegate delivered an impassioned speech to his colleagues.

“I cannot stand by while this body uses gays and lesbians as scapegoats for what has happened to the institution of marriage,” Ebbin said in prepared remarks on the House floor.

“What are we defending marriage from? Are we defending it from the high heterosexual divorce rate by seeing that we will never grant civil unions? Are we defending marriage from the criminal offense of adultery? No, we are not. … This is all about politics and re-election campaigns. The measure before us addresses none of the threats or challenges that husbands and wives face today.”

Despite Ebbin’s pleas, the House of Delegates this week approved a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage by a 78-18 vote. The Senate voted Monday 30-10 in favor of its version of the amendment. The General Assembly must approve the amendment again during the 2006 legislative session before it can go to Virginia voters in November of that year.>

http://www.washblade.com/2005/2-11/news/localnews/poised.cfm

[dsc]

1. Virginia has gone nuts

I can't phathom what is up with them. They are worse than places like Mississippi and Tennessee which is saying alot.

[Davis_X_Machina]

2. Surely the Lord...

...will notice the state's zeal, and shower prosperity and abundance upon it as a result?

[IndianaGreen]

3. It's their religion that is nuts

Christian fundamentalists are nothing more than theological terrorists that are trying to establish a theocracy in America that will rival the Taliban in cruelty and ignorance.

[sarcasmo]

5. This is the #1 reason why they want a Health records database.

Big Brother is trying to put the homosexuals into a database and call it the Health records data base. I have thought the same thing you do criminalizing homosexuality is what the right wing nut jobs want.

[GOPBasher]

8. I'm going to quote you on that.

That so perfectly sums up what I've been thinking, and you said it way better than I could. Thanks!

"Christian fundamentalists are nothing more than theological terrorists that are trying to establish a theocracy in America that will rival the Taliban in cruelty and ignorance."

Do you mind my quoting you? I put it right in my sig line. :-)

[OneBlueSky]

4. this country is on the road to criminalizing homosexulity . . .

or, at minimum, classifying it as a mental health defect . . . these marriage amendments are only the beginning . . . without the commies to kick around, gays and Muslims are the new whipping boys of the right, and they won't stop until we're excluded from society in every way imaginable . . .

[liberalitch]

6. When I "write students up" for intimidating gay students...

nothing happens... the kids are told that they should change or hide their life styles

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

9. Can you bring this to the press? (nt)

[ProudToBeLiberal]

7. fuck virginia nt