Daily Press Slams Randy Forbes; Forbes to Disingenuously Rent Apartment in Virginia Beach

4th District Congressman Randy Forbes who seeks to be a carpetbagger in Virginia Beach

My former law school classmate Randy Forbes continues to show the extent to which some elected officials will go to put their personal interests ahead the interests and well being of their constituents. Two stories looks at Forbes' self-centered agenda.  First, WAVY- looks at Forbes' plan to rent an apartment  in Virginia Beach in lieu of purchasing a home in the 2nd Congressional District (can we say cheap?) so that he can claim with at least a somewhat straight face that he lives in the District even though 100% of his past ties are in Chesapeake/.the 4th District.   The second piece is an editorial from the Daily Press which basically rips Forbes a new one.  Here are highlights from the WAVY TV piece:

10 On Your Side has confirmed Congressman Randy Forbes (R) 4th District is now in the process of renting an apartment in Virginia Beach.

His Campaign office told WAVY Forbes and his wife “have put down a security deposit and look forward to spending a great deal of time there.”

Forbes’ Communiction Director Hailey Sadler did not say where the apartment is.  Three sources confirm Forbes is getting an apartment at the Mayflower Apartments on 34th Street. Mayflower would neither confirm nor deny the Forbes application to rent an apartment.

Hailey Sadler also says, “Randy and Shirley intend to retain their generational home nine miles outside of Virginia Beach.”

That house is located in Chesapeake in Forbes current district.

Congressman Forbes is switching districts from the 4th where he lives in his Chesapeake home to the 2nd which represents mostly Virginia Beach.

He is running against Delegate Scott Taylor/(R) 85th. Taylor responded to our story “His first political plan of abandoning his people for a better district while living in Chesapeake has failed. Now he wants to try to deceive everyone by renting an apartment? Everyone knows Randy Forbes lives in a big house in Chesapeake, not a small apartment in Virginia Beach.”

It is unsure whether Forbes can and will move his voting precinct to Virginia Beach.

Del. Taylor has repeatedly said, “How can you vote for Randy Forbes who can’t even vote for himself?”

While I generally shun Republicans, it should be noted that Forbes's opponent for the GOP nomination, Del. Scott Taylor, is one of the few Republicans in the Virginia General Assembly who is NOT a homophobe.  Meanwhile. an editorial in the Daily Press slammed Forbes for his shameless opportunism and desire to stay in offence at the cost of the best interests of his constituents.  Here are excerpts:

Instead of a district that resembles a squashed salamander and purports to say bits and pieces of Newport News, Norfolk and Richmond connected by strips of mud along the James River shore make up a community, we will get something different from redistricting.

It's a basic question when lawyers look into something: Who gains?

Lawyers, being lawyers, have to ask it in Latin — they say "Cui bono" — but the point can't be obscured by a dead language. And the point was clear as Fourth grade English when the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments about the court-ordered redrawing of the 3rd Congressional District last week.

Who benefits if the Supreme Court eventually throws out the redistricting?

Members of Congress. The one name that kept coming up in last week's arguments before the Supreme Court was Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Chesapeake.

The lawyer for the Virginia members of Congress who challenged the lower court's redistricting argued several times that redrawing the map injured Rep. Forbes.

"Every time your district is changed and you believe it hurts you, you have a right to go to court and say what?" Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked at one point.

"He suffered injury-in-fact to what?" asked Justice Anthony Kennedy, referring to Rep. Forbes.

"To his ability to be re-elected," the delegation's lawyer said.  Huh?

So members of Congress are special. Their rights to that $174,000-a-year gig, and to districts carefully crafted to ensure re-election, are different than yours. Your right, that is, to a vote that matters to our Capitol Hill solons, most of whom romped home to re-election in 2014 with a 20-percentage-point margin from their carefully gerrymandered districts.

Here's the dirty little secret about congressional redistricting in Virginia: The General Assembly enacts it, but it does so with the wishes of members of Congress uppermost in its mind.

And now there's this: Risking an election loss is an injury — an injury! — to our professional politicians.  Nonsense.

The real injury lies in an environment where politicians don't risk losing elections.  The injured parties here are Virginia voters. We're injured when elected officials no longer have to listen to us because they are so secure in their seats.

Ouch!  But the truth is that the editorial is 100% on point.  Forbes has no right to be assured of re-election.  For years he has had a handcrafted safe seat which has allowed him to be re-elected while doing little or nothing for his constituents and pandering to the most lunatic fringes of the Christofascists in the GOP base.  It is far past time that Forbes be forced to participate in a competitive nomination and election process.  If the voters don't want the theocratic crap that he is peddling, then he deserves to be defeated and forced from office.  

Ad Targets Congressman Randy Forbes' Ties to Hate Group

Ken Cuccinelli is not the only Virginia Republican who seems only too willing to prostitute himself to far right anti-gay hate groups that also involve a strong undercurrent of racism and ties to white supremacy.  Another one of such Republicans is Congressman Randy Forbes whose district includes parts of Hampton Roads.  I've known Forbes for going on 39 years since law school days and he wasn't always in bed with the Christofascists and de facto racists.   But that was then and increasingly he has aligned himself with some of the nastiest groups in the anti-gay pantheon, including the American Family Association ("AFA").  But it isn't just gays that AFA seeks to denigrate and relegate to an inferior level of citizenship.  AFA spokesman Bryan Fischer has made heinous comments about Native Americans, non-whites, and of course immigrants.  Now, the non-profit group Faithful America, is conducting an online petition drive asking Forbes to cancel his speech at an AFA gathering later this week.  Here's are highlights from a statement from Faithful America:

Faithful America, a national Christian organization, is airing a new TV ad that calls on Virginia Congressman Randy Forbes to cancel his upcoming appearance at a Washington, D.C. luncheon sponsored by the American Family Association, a fringe hate group whose spokesman has blamed America for 9/11, claimed gays caused the Holocaust, said black people “rut like rabbits” and argued that women have no place in politics. Watch the new ad, “There’s nothing Christian about hate,” which is running this week in Virginia’s 4th Congressional District. 

 

“As founder and chair of the so-called Congressional Prayer Caucus, Rep. Randy Forbes holds up himself up as a Christian leader in Washington, D.C. But there's nothing Christian about the hateful rhetoric of the American Family Association. Thousands of Christians across America are calling on Rep. Forbes to cancel this appearance.” said Faithful America executive director Michael Sherrard.

The American Family Association and its spokesman, Bryan Fischer, have a long track record of extremism. During the last election, Mitt Romney confronted the group, calling out its “poisonous language” and lack of “decency.” The AFA has officially been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for its outrageous and bigoted statements about gays, which include: “Homosexuality gave us Adolf Hitler, and homosexuals in the military gave us the Brown Shirts, the Nazi war machine and 6 million dead Jews.” 

Faithful America’s new TV ad comes on the heels of a national petition to Congressman Forbes, which was launched last week and so far has over 12,000 signatures.

Both the Virginian Pilot and the Richmond Times Dispatch have coverage of the effort.  Here are highlights from thre Pilot:

Progressive Christian activists are running TV ads urging U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes to cancel a Friday speech sponsored by a conservative Christian association that has been labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The Chesapeake Republican, a founder of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, is scheduled to speak at a $40-a-plate American Family Association luncheon. It is part of the 2013 Values Voter Summit, an annual three-day event in Washington sponsored by several conservative groups.

Its 30-second spot opens with a close-up of Forbes' face as a narrator says, "Congressman Randy Forbes talks a lot about his Christian faith, so why is he working with a hate group?"
 
It then switches to images of Bryan Fischer, host of an American Family Association radio show, citing comments Fischer has made that are disparaging of homosexuals, women and blacks.

"We're focusing on Rep. Forbes mostly because of his clear leadership on Christian issues in the House," Viles said. "The idea that you have a congressman who is constantly touting his Christian values giving credibility to an organization like this.... It doesn't smell like Christianity."

 Here is a sampling from the Richmond Times Dispatch:

Several human rights groups have called on Rep. J. Randy Forbes, R-4th, and other Republican legislators to cancel their speaking engagements at the Values Voter Summit in Washington this Friday, an event co-sponsored by the American Family Association and the Family Research Council, in Washington this Friday. Both organizations were categorized as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center because of “vilifying the LGBT community and spreading other forms of bigotry.”

“Public officials need to know the real ‘values’ they’re endorsing when they attend the Values Voter Summit,” said Heidi Beirich, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project. “Offensive and bigoted lies are not magically transformed into the truth just because a group with the word ‘family’ in its name keeps repeating them.”

The coalition letter was signed by the NAACP, the National Council of La Raza, Faithful America, GLAAD, the Human Rights Campaign, People For the American Way, and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Dean Petrone, a spokesman for Forbes, said that the congressman has no intentions of changing his plans to attend the event.

My comment to my former classmate?  Randy, if you are really the sincere Christian that you claim to be - as opposed to a pandering whore groveling for votes from haters - you would cancel your appearance immediately.  If you fail to do so, it speaks volumes and none of it is good.  AFA, Family Research Council and their co-hosts are literally killing Christianity.
 

Randy Forbes' Dishonest Political Ad

German rescuer from the humanitarian organisation Sea-Watch holds a drowned migrant baby, off the Libyan cost May 27, 2016. The baby, who appears to be no more than a year old, was pulled from the sea after a wooden boat capsized last Friday. (Christian Buettner/Eikon Nord GmbH Germany/Handout via REUTERS)

Randy Forbes is busy spending his campaign war chest on television ads in advance of the Republican primary to determine who will be the GOP nominee for the Virginia 2nd congressional district race.  One ad I find particularly offensive and dishonest.  It starts out with all the usual GOP touches: Forbes on a front porch with an American flag in the background.  He then proceeds to talk about Islamic terrorists "coming to get you" and then promises that he will stop them.

The ad plays on fear and, sadly, the mindlessness of many in the GOP base.  The most dishonest thing, however, is Forbes' claim that he will stop the terrorists.  Forbes has had years in Congress to do something, yet has no signature legislation to his name unless one counts resolutions pandering to far right Christian extremists that are an affront to the concept of freedom of religion in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.  Other than drawing a nice salary and perks that Forbes deeply enjoys - the reason Forbes is running as a carpetbagger candidate in the 2nd district -  Forbes has no reason to run for reelection.  He has no plan and has nothing from his past years in Congress to suggest that he will do anything but remain a extreme back bench seat warmer.  It would be difficult for Forbes' opponent, Scott Taylor, do do less than Forbes has done over the years in Congress.

The second portion aspect of the ad that is repulsive is Forbes' message that all Muslims - including the drowned child above - are would be terrorists.  Hand in hand with this is Forbes' callousness towards other humans  "created in the image of god" if you believe Forbes' feigned religiosity.  Other than being an extreme homophobe, virulently anti-abortion, and yearning to make America a Christian theocray with his form of Christian Sharia law, Forbes seemingly cares nothing for the Gospel message.  

Residents of the 2nd district need to give Forbes the boot and let someone else have the nomination and see if they can do more than Forbes has done.  It certainly would not take much.  It's time to send Randy Forbes into political retirement.

Disclaimer: I have known Randy Forbes since law school, and, in my opinion, he has become more extreme and less representative of Hampton Roads with every passing year.

I Was Wrong- Neither Scott Taylor nor Randy Forbes is Fit for Congress

Scott Taylor - Randy Forbes

UPDATED 5-4-16: Today Del. Scott Taylor proved that he is no real friend to the LGBT community by endorsing Donald Trump and suggesting to me that he was merely playing some of us in the LGBT community for fools, yours truly included.   Here's part of a press statement released by Taylor today:

I look forward to running with Donald Trump in November's general election. I encourage Second District Republicans to rally around Trump to help win Virginia for the GOP. The thought of a Hillary Clinton presidency should shock and scare every thoughtful American who knows our country is headed in the wrong direction. I will work with Donald Trump to put America first and get our economy growing again.

I retract my previous post:

Disclaimer: Randy Forbes was a law school classmate of mine.  Over the years, he has become less and less mainstream and hardly resembles the person I once knew. His main agenda in Congress has been far right wing and some of his pro-Christian extremist positions have subjected the Hampton Roads area to ridicule. 

The upcoming primary that will determine the for the Republican candidate for Virginia's 2nd District this November is an opportunity to send homophobic, theocracy loving, do nothing Congressman Randy Forbes into political retirement. Other than backing extreme Christian right efforts in Congress and enjoying the perks of being a member of Congress, Forbes has little to show for his years in Congress. 

Most ridiculous of all, when the Virginia 4th District which Forbes has represented since 2001 was reconfigured after federal courts found it and the 3rd District to have been illegally gerrymandered, Forbes opted not to run for reelection in the 4th District - fearing he would lose now that the district wasn't hand tailored to guarantee him  victory - to run in the Virginia 2nd District where the incumbent, Scott Rigell, is retiring.  What is shocking is that Forbes doesn't live in the 2nd District, has few ties to it, and is only ostensible renting an apartment to put some fig leaf over the fact that he doesn't live in or care about the 2nd District.  For Forbes, it's all about hanging onto the perks and salary of a member of Congress.

As the Virginian Pilot reports, Forbes has a huge amount of money compared to his challengers for the GOP nomination - his chief opponent is Del. Scott Taylor - and basically hopes to buy himself the 2nd District seat which leans Republican in elections.  In contrast to Forbes, Scott Taylor is forward thinking, supportive of equality for all - including the LGBT community - and wants to move the country forward rather than return it to the 1950's as Forbes continually seeks to do.  The 2nd District needs a representative that will represent all residents of the 2nd District rather than only right wing extremists  - Right Wing Watch has often reported on the batshit crazy bills and resolutions favored by Forbes.

I urge readers who live in the 2nd District to make sure they are registered and to vote in the GOP primary later this year and to vote against Forbes - and preferably for Taylor who has even been a sponsor of HR Pride.  Here are details from the Pilot on how Forbes hopes to buy the 2nd District for himself:

Even with the heavy spending, Forbes still had $875,406 cash on hand April 1 because he entered the race with a large campaign fund in place before he decided to leave the 4th. By comparison, Scott had $53,087 on hand April 1 and Cardwell, $9,519.

The winner of the GOP primary will compete in November against Democrat Shaun Brown of Hampton who entered the race near the end of the FEC reporting period. No financial information was available Friday.

If the 2nd District is to be represented by a Republican, it should be Taylor or someone who grasps that it is now the 21st century, not 1950, and who will not focus their efforts on blocking progress and granting special rights and privileges to right wing Christians at the expense of other citizens.

Todd "Legitimate Rape" Akin's Virginia Allies: Scott Rigell, Randy Forbes and Bob Wittman

GOP Extremist, Scott Rigell

As the Republican Party nationwide scurries like cockroaches to avoid the fall out from GOP Senate candidate Todd Akin's "legitimate rape" defense for his opposition to abortion in any instance, it is important for Hampton Roads citizens to understand that Akin has steadfast allies in our local congressman: Scott Rigell (pictured at left), Randy Forbes and Bob Wittman.  Farther afield in Virginia, Eric Cantor, Robert Hurt and Frank Wolfe have also supported Akin's anti-woman agenda (it goes without saying that all of these Republicans are 100% against gay rights and some. like Rigell, would likely seek to reenact the sodomy laws if they could).  Blue Virginia has a summary of how Rigell, et al have voted in lock step with Akin:

No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act: Note that this legislation uses the phrase "forcible rape". Also note that there were 227 cosponsors, including (in addition to Todd "Legitimate Rape" Akin) the following anti-women warriors from Virginia: Eric Can'tor, Randy Forbes, Bob Goodlatte, Morgan Griffith, Robert Hurt, Scott Rigell, Robert Wittman, and Frank Wolf.
 
Sanctity of Human Life Act ("Declares that: (1) the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human and is the person's paramount and most fundamental right; (2) each human life begins with fertilization, cloning, or its functional equivalent, at which time every human has all legal and constitutional attributes and privileges of personhood; and (3) Congress, each state, the District of Columbia, and all U.S. territories have the authority to protect all human lives."). This bill would effectively outlaw all abortions, as well as embryonic stem cell research and many forms of contraception. In addition to Todd "Legitimate Rape" Akin, Virginia anti-women warriors who cosponsored this bill include Randy Forbes and Rob Wittman.
 
Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act ("Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Service (HHS) from providing any federal family planning assistance to an entity unless the entity certifies that, during the period of such assistance, the entity will not perform, and will not provide any funds to any other entity that performs, an abortion."). In addition to Todd "Legitimate Rape" Akin, Virginia cosponsors on this heinous piece of anti-women legislation include Randy Forbes, Bob Goodlatte, Robert Hurt, Scott Rigell, and Rob Wittman.
 
Protect Life Act ("prohibit[s] federal funds from being to used to cover any part of the costs of any health plan that includes coverage of abortion services."). In addition to Todd "Legitimate Rape" Akin, Virginia cosponsors of this monstrosity include Randy Forbes and Scott Rigell.
 
Abortion Non-Discrimination Act of 2011 ("prohibit[s] the federal government and any state or local government that receives federal financial assistance from subjecting any health professional, a hospital, a provider sponsored organization, a health maintenance organization, an accountable care organization, a health insurance plan, or any other kind of health care facility, organization, or plan to discrimination on the basis that the entity refuses to participate in abortion-related activities."). In addition to Todd "Legitimate Rape" Akin, Virginia cosponsors include Randy Forbes, Bob Goodlatte, Morgan Griffith, and Scott Rigell.
 
Life at Conception Act ("Declares that the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human being beginning at the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual comes into being."). Along with Todd "Legitimate Rape" Akin, Virginia cosponsors include Randy Forbes, Bob Goodlatte, Robert Hurt, Scott Rigell, and Robert Wittman.

But Akins allies in the GOP extend far beyond Virginia.  Other allies and supporters of anti-women legislation include PAUL RYAN, Mitt Romney's VP nominee.   Indeed, banning all abortions no matter the circumstance is now the GOP mainstream position.  A column in the Washington Post looks at this reality.  Here are excerpts:

 

Last year, Akin co-sponsored a bill in the House that would have narrowed the exception that allows Medicaid funds to pay for abortions for women who are raped. The proposed measure would have permitted the use of funds only to end pregnancies resulting from “forcible rape.” Paul Ryan, now Mitt Romney’s running mate, was another co-sponsor of the measure, which ultimately failed.

The statutory rape of a child by an adult would not fit the definition the House Republicans tried to impose; nor would the rape of a woman who was drugged, say, or who had limited mental capacity. Never mind the fact that, as far as criminal law is concerned, rape is rape. Never mind the fact that all rape, by its very nature, is “forcible.”

Akin’s assertion about “legitimate” rape is really nothing but an attempt to blame the victim. It stems from the view that the only true victim is a woman who is raped while violently resisting a ski-masked assailant who came in through the bedroom window. Anything short of that, she must have been asking for it.

Akin’s stupid, sexist remarks were immediately denounced by Romney and other prominent Republicans. But the GOP refuses to do the one thing that would neutralize the “war on women” issue: Stop the misogynistic attacks. Stop them now.

Randy Forbes to Change Districts to Save His Job

I have known 4th District Congressman Randy Forbes for almost 40 years and the man has gotten crazier and more of a religious extremist with every passing year.  Now, with his district redrawn to undo some of the GOP gerrymandering of Virgina's congressional districts, Forbes has announced that he will physically move his residence and run for the 2nd District seat being vacated by Scott Rigell.  It apparently never crossed Forbes' mind that he could be competitive in the redrawn 4th District if he shed some of his right wing Christian lunacy and focused on issues that matter to voters outside of knuckle dragging Christofascist circles.  One can only hope that the Democrats find a strong candidate to challenge Forbes who is not well known in the 2nd District outside of Republican circles.  A Virginian Pilot editorial takes some shots at Forbes.  Here are excerpts:

U.S. REP. RANDY Forbes announced Monday that he’s running for Congress again. But after 15 years in Virginia’s 4th District, Forbes is jumping to the 2nd Congressional District, based in Virginia Beach. He said he’s seeking the seat U.S. Rep. Scott Rigell is vacating to keep the power of a House Armed Services subcommittee in the hands of a Virginian.

In his announcement, he never mentioned that he’s abandoning the Chesapeake district he’s represented since 2001 — the district where he was born and grew up — to have a better chance of remaining in Congress.

He didn’t mention that the district that was drawn specifically for him in 2002 — a district so solidly Republican that Forbes has had only token opposition in his re-election bids — has been redrawn by the federal courts and is now more Democratic.

The conservative congressman, who touts his protection for the unborn, his A rating from the NRA and his stands for religious liberty as important identifiers, would have a hard time defending his record successfully in the redrawn 4th. He’d also have to defend his sponsorship of only one piece of successful legislation: To rename a post office.

This effort at self-preservation is why drawing districts for Congress and the General Assembly should be the responsibility of an independent commission, not lawmakers seeking to maintain jobs for themselves and their political allies. State lawmakers drew a safe seat for Forbes in 2002 and again in 2012 by packing African American voters from Richmond to Norfolk into the 3rd Congressional District.

The Conservative Review describes Forbes this way: “Forbes is primarily a backbencher, except when it comes to national security issues, which are his passion. ... He is also a leading voice warning against the rise of China as a global power. He formed and chairs the Congressional China Caucus which studies the rise of China.”

Forbes’ legislative battles and abiding passion have centered on social issues, an unnecessary and divisive distraction in a Congress marked by its inability to do anything constructive.

With the courts’ redrawn districts, Forbes had an opportunity to defend the record he’s compiled in his home district and the clout he’s accumulated. Instead of fighting for what he believes in, Forbes fled next door.

I hope Forbes' gambit fails and that he is voted out of office in November.  Hampton Roads needs a serious, objective reality accepting member of congress.  That doesn't describe Forbes.

Anti-Gay Rep. Randy Forbes Slammed from Right and Left

This morning I wrote about my increasingly homophobic former classmate, Congressman Randy Forbes, who appears to be attempting to block campaign funding for gay Republican candidates from the National Republican Congressional Committee.  Forbes motivation?  Obviously, kissing the large bigoted asses of the Christofascist.  And perhaps, in my view, reprising the behavior of former Congressman Ed Schrock.  Since Politico's story hit, Forbes has been getting slammed by both pundits of the right and the left.  On the right, a piece in Bearing Drift, perhaps the leading conservative political blog in Virginia, this statement appeared:

Forbes did himself no favors with his statements: . . . .Notice anything missing? Like say a statement making it abundantly clear that using sexual orientation to disqualify a candidate is a no-no? Me neither, and that’s the problem.

Has the Republican Party of Virginia fallen so far that opposing Bob McDonnell’s tax hike is considered “extreme,” but backroom homophobia is just fine?

Memo to my Congressman: the clock is ticking; I think 24 hours to be sufficient for a much needed clarification. Likewise for the newfound “moderates” who make up the Bolling faction (as it were) of the the RPV: you have 24 hours to practice what you preach, condemn this behavior (if you don’t think Forbes actually did it, you can feel free to blast the concept without touching him), and show me this is about more than giving yourselves cover for tax increases.

The left has been equally brutal.  Here are highlights from a statement by the Southern Poverty Law Center:

Virginia Congressman Randy Forbes is back in the news. We last wrote about Forbes in October when he was set to fundraise for an anti-gay hate group, the American Family Association (AFA). Now he’s pushing to deny money to gay Republican candidates for Congress – because they’re gay. Unfortunately for Forbes, his anti-gay bigotry is undercutting his effort to become chair of the powerful House Armed Services Committee.

We were hopeful that his decision to skip the hate group event signaled a shift away from anti-gay bigotry. We were wrong.
Forbes, sadly, has a long track record of bigotry, and his latest efforts fit nicely into a career of denying civil rights to LGBT Americans. As Zack Ford points out at ThinkProgress, he argued in 2007 that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prevent LGBT Americans from being fired for their sexual orientation, would “destroy the institution of marriage.” He also supports a constitutional amendment to overturn state laws allowing same-sex marriage and introduced legislation that would allow businesses with a religious affiliation to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.

As we’ve noted in the past, Forbes has worked closely with the AFA and appeared numerous times on its radio shows, including with Tony Perkins and homophobe-in-chief Bryan Fischer. One of the first videos on his official YouTube channel, posted in 2008, is an AFA special called the “War on God.”

Forbes’ close relationship with the AFA renders him unfit to chair the committee that oversees America’s modern military. After all, this is a group whose chief spokesperson and head of public policy – Bryan Fischer – argues that we must “bring to an end the practice of putting women in the military” and “stop the practice of allowing Muslims to serve in the U.S. military.”
Forbes can’t be held responsible for every bigoted thing that comes out of Fischer’s mouth, but he has gone out of his way to work with the AFA – more than perhaps any other member of Congress. He has made it clear that he will use every bit of leverage he has to undermine equal rights. He has no place dictating policy for our military.

   Actions have consequences and I hope Forbes' bigotry ends up biting him in the ass big time.

Randy Forbes Again Prostitutes Himself to the Christian Rught

As I've noted on this blog before, local Virginia Congressman Randy Forbes (pictured at left) was a law school classmate of mine.  Back in law school, Forbes seemed normal and certainly did not come across as a religious extremist or someone seething with anti-gay hatred.  Yet since his election to first to the Virginia General Assembly and later to Congress, his behavior suggest that either (1) The Family Foundation worked some sort of "Stepford Wife" transformation on him,  (2) he perhaps suffered some sort of head trauma that has caused a nasty personality transformation, or (3) his a lying, pandering whore to the Christofascists.  In that latter regard, nowadays, Forbes' nose is so far up the Christianists' butt cheeks, it is literally a wonder that the man doesn't suffocate. Not to mention that he more and more acts as if he were one of the closeted self-loathing closet cases of the type noted in the University of Rochester study earlier this year on homophobes.  In keeping with his virulent religious extremism, contempt for the religious freedoms all citizens and self-prostitution to the ugliest Christianist groups, Forbes came out foaming at the mouth over the participation of uniformed service members in the San Diego Pride parade over this past weekend.   Here are highlights from the Virginian Pilot:

Congressional Republicans challenged Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Tuesday to explain why the Defense Department allowed active-duty troops to wear their uniforms while marching in San Diego’s gay pride parade last weekend.

Rep. J. Randy Forbes, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, issued a statement condemning the waiver. Forbes represents parts of Virginia, including Chesapeake.

“I am calling on the Defense Department to halt these dangerous exceptions to policy for political purposes,” Forbes said. “This decision was an outrageous and blatantly political determination issued solely to advance this administration’s social agenda.” 

Inhofe, who serves on the Armed Services Committee, also pointed out that administrative action has been taken against service members who have violated the rule.

“If the Navy can punish a chaplain for participating in a pro-life event or a Marine participating in a political rally, it stands to reason that the Defense Department should maintain the same standard and preclude service members in uniform from marching in a gay pride parade,” Inhofe wrote.

If Forbes and Inhofe bothered to do their homework - admittedly a novel concept for Republicans -  rather than merely repeating the script given to them by certified anti-gay hate groups, they'd know that most Pride organizations are 501(c)(3) charitable organizations that do not engage in political events (I'm on the board of directors of HR Pride which is such a charitable organization).  Apparently, to the Neanderthals in the GOP and their Christianist puppet masters, any time a gay citizen participates in a community event in uniform, it somehow becomes political.  As for Inhofe's lame comparison of non-profit pride organizations which do ZERO lobbying for legislative action to abortion rights organizations and political events, the man shows that he's either a bigot or and idiot - or more likely both.  Ditto for Randy Forbes.

Farewell To Christofascist Tool Randy Forbes

As noted in prior posts, I urged voters to vote against Randy Forbes - a former law school classmate - and then celebrated his primary loss to Scott Taylor.  Forbes' principal "contributions" in Congress were Christofascist backed batshitery.  Americans for the Separation of Church and State has a rundown of the lunacy and in some cases arguably unconstitutional measures that always received Forbes' support.  Here are some highlights:

A staunch Religious Right ally will soon be leaving Congress after he suffered a primary defeat on Tuesday.

After 15 years in office, U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) was defeated 53 percent to 41 percent by a Republican challenger despite outspending his opponent almost 10-1. Forbes is partly the victim of redistricting; he switched to a new district this year after the makeup of his old one changed in favor of Democrats.

We won’t exactly be sorry to see Forbes go. While in office, he regularly did the Religious Right’s bidding.

In 2009, Forbes backed a resolution that outlined “73 milestones of spirituality and faith in the United States.” The measure also recognized what he claimed were “the religious foundations of faith” that “form the inseparable foundation for America’s representative processes, legal systems and societal structures.”

At Ralph Reed’s Faith and Freedom Conference in Washington, D.C., in 2010 Forbes peddled bad history. He claimed America was intended to be an officially “Christian nation” as evidenced by instances when our government eroded the church-state wall, including the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1892 decision in Holy Trinity v. United States. Of course he failed to mention that the Holy Trinity decision is a legal anomaly. It has rarely been cited by other courts, and the “Christian nation” declaration made in the opinion for that case appeared in dicta, which is a legal term meaning writing that reflects a judge’s personal opinion, not a mandate of the law.

In 2011, Forbes sponsored a resolution that reaffirmed “In God We Trust” as the official motto of the United States and encouraged its display in public spaces. 

Forbes is also heavily involved with the Congressional Prayer Caucus.

It’s no wonder, then, that Forbes was endorsed by the anti-gay Family Research Council (FRC) right before his defeat.

Meanwhile, state Del. Scott Taylor (R-Virginia Beach) will face Democrat Shaun Brown, a businesswoman who has not previously held elected office, in the November election. We don’t know what the outcome of that race will be, but the winner would have to work really hard to top Forbes’ record on mixing church and state.  

GOP Congressman Randy Forbes to Fundraise for Anti-Gay Hate Group

I truly do not not understand what has happened to GOP Congressman Randy Forbes.  We were classmates in law school and while conservative in someways, Forbes was over all a regular guy who would hang out and chat at Friday afternoon Happy Hours at the University of Virginia's law school.  It's as if the forces of the far right worked a "Stepford Wife" transformation on Forbes.  He's no longer a nice, live and let live type of guy and instead is actively supporting hate groups and the dissemination of anti-gay lies.  Yes, he has tried to claim that the hate group designations of his mentors at American Family Association and Family Research Council are illegitimate.  But's this ploy is almost laughable given the past ties of the FRC's, Tony Perkins, to the KKK.  These organizations are not only anti-gay.  They are also anti-Hispanic, anti-women, and anti-minority as well.  Yet, despite calls to cancel his appearance at the falsely named "Value Voters Summit," Forbes will help raise funds for these foul hate groups.  Here are highlights from the Southern Poverty Law Center on the situation:

While some members of Congress will spend Friday working to end the government shutdown, Rep. Randy Forbes plans to raise money for the American Family Association, an anti-gay hate group. As the Virginian-Pilot reports, Forbes is “scheduled to speak at a $40-a-plate American Family Association luncheon” at the Values Voter Summit that beings Friday in Washington.

That’s why Faithful America, a progressive Christian organization, launched a TV ad this week calling on Forbes to cancel the appearance.
[T]he Southern Poverty Law Center joined with Faithful America, GLAAD, Human Rights Campaign, the NAACP, the National Council of La Raza, and People For the American Way to call on public officials, including Forbes, to avoid the Values Voter Summit altogether. Read the groups’ letter [PDF].

When asked about the letter by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Forbes spokesperson Dean Petrone defended the American Family Association, saying that the group was being criticized for opposing same-sex marriage. He also suggested that the group’s critics were “engaging in highly inflammatory rhetoric that diminishes civil public discourse.”

Both charges are laughable. There wouldn’t have been a letter or TV ad directed at his boss if the American Family Association actually held traditional views. Instead the group demonizes and lies about LGBT people, going so far as to blame them for the Holocaust. The group’s chief spokesman, Bryan Fischer, has said, “Homosexuality gave us Adolph Hitler, and homosexuals in the military gave us the Brown Shirts, the Nazi war machine and six million dead Jews.”

Forbes has until Friday afternoon to decide where he stands. In the meantime, Faithful America is continuing to run its ad and collect petition signatures.

Randy, please grow a spine, reject hate, and ignore the demands of the hate merchants at AFA, FRC and, of course, Virginia's own anti-gay Christofacists at The Family Foundation.

Congressman Randy Forbes: A Do Nothing Extremist

I've noted before that I've known 4th District Congressman Randy Forbes for 37 years and I don't know what became of the young law student I once knew.  Forbes has become increasingly a willing prostitute for far right religious extremists and compared to other members of Congress, including other members from Virginia, has little in the way of legislation to show for his years in Congress.  Crazy Christofascist backed bills and obstruction are about all he has to show for his years drawing a nice congressional salary.  A piece in the Virginian Pilot looks at Forbes' dismal record and how he stays in office thanks to districts that are racially gerrymandered.  Here are excerpts:

Randy Forbes has not been a consequential member of Congress.

By almost every measure of effectiveness, he trails his peers in the House of Representatives, not just among the 435 members of Congress, but among the 11-member Virginia delegation.

In Forbes' 13 years in office, only one piece of his legislation has been signed by a president, according to Congress's database. It was a bill, in 2002, to "designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3131 South Crater Road in Petersburg, Virginia, as the 'Norman Sisisky Post Office Building.' "

In the current Congress, Forbes has sponsored legislation:

-- "Affirming the vital role that prayer has played throughout the more than 200-year history of our Nation..."

-- Expressing "the sense of the House of Representatives that the funds made available for the cost of the President's trip to Africa instead be used to compensate those who have been placed on an administrative furlough as a result of sequestration."

He's also introduced bills that would bar the use of embryonic stem cells and rein in the IRS (the "Prevent IRS Overreach Act of 2013").

Late last year, Politico reported that Forbes was creating "friction" within the House leadership by pushing to have campaign funds denied to gay GOP candidates.

The bills a member of Congress sponsors say something about his priorities. The legislative success of a member of Congress says something about his influence among his peers.

The fact that none of Forbes' legislation since 2002 has made it to the president's desk argues that he's not representing the residents of the 4th Congressional District as they deserve and have every right to expect.

Forbes has instead wasted his time in Congress on inconsequential and unnecessarily divisive issues (does Congress need to inform Americans about the role of prayer?) that appeal to a narrow band of the electorate.

Which is all he needs to get re-elected.

This is what happens when elected officials get to tailor their own electoral districts. By packing Democrats into Scott's district, the General Assembly has made the 4th Congressional District so reliably Republican that, not only is Forbes in no danger of losing next month's election, but the Democratic Party has consistently failed to find or support a credible candidate to oppose him.

Forbes, instead, seems content to keep his head down and run for the finish line in his sharply tailored district, confident that he won't be held accountable for his stunning lack of influence and legislative success.

Scott Taylor Defeats Homophobia Randy Forbes

Taylor at the 2016 Pride Fest launch

In yesterday's Republican primary for the Virginia 2nd congressional district and gay-friendly Republican, Scott Taylor, defeated the virulently anti-gay, pro-Christofascists Randy Forbes, a carpetbagger from the re-districted 4th congressional district.  (Taylor has personally donated as a sponsor of this weekend's HR Pride Fest).  Forbes represents everything that is wrong with today's GOP and I say go riddance.  Taylor has his short-comings, but at least he's living in the 21st century, unlike Forbes who wants to bring back all of the worst aspects of the 1950's.  Since the primary likely decided who wins in November, many in the LGBT community held their noses and voted for Taylor to rid Congress of Forbes' putrid, anti-LGBT presence.  Hopefully, other area Republicans will note that being anti-LGBT just might get them defeated as this  region becomes more progressive.  Here are highlights from the Virginian Pilot:

An ebullient state Del. Scott Taylor won the 2nd Congressional District Republican primary Tuesday with a feisty grassroots campaign after being outspent almost 10-to-1 by U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes, a eight-term legislator who was trying to move from his home district to a supposedly friendlier one nearby.

Taylor’s next challenge is the Nov. 8 general election, where he will face Democrat Shaun Brown, a relatively unknown Newport News businesswoman and former unsuccessful candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates and the Newport News City Council.

He emerged from a Town Center restaurant a few minutes after 8 p.m. to a fanfare of applause and handshakes.

“This is not done alone,” he said. “This is a team effort. People come together to sacrifice for a cause greater than themselves.”

Taylor’s victory came after a bruising primary campaign in which he and Forbes traded personal barbs that challenged each other’s character and ability to support national security and the region’s defense-centric economy.

Forbes’ defeat spells the end of his 15-year career in the House of Representatives as a lawmaker from the 4th Congressional District. When his House term ends later this year, he will have served 27 consecutive years in elected office after first being elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1989.

Forbes said he regretted not enough people in the 2nd District agreed with his political vision.

There was a certain amount of vindication in Tuesday’s victory for Taylor, 36, who was twice elected to the state House of Delegates. He had been subjected to strong multimedia attacks in television ads, mailings and interviews where Forbes noted Taylor’s business failures and also implied his multiple speeding violations were criminal acts.

Taylor, a former Navy SEAL, ran against much of Virginia Beach’s GOP establishment, with several local elected officials as well as departing U.S. Rep. Scott Rigell endorsing Forbes’ candidacy. Rigell rented Forbes his former headquarters on First Colonial Road and sold him his email lists of supporters.

Rigell said Tuesday night he had “significant” differences with Taylor but would support the party’s nominee to replace him in Congress. 

Randy Forbes Pushing National Republican Congressional Committee to Deny Support to Gay Candidates

As I have noted before, I was in law school with now Congressman Randy Forbes.  You might say that I even counted him as a friend.  I honestly cannot determine what the Hell has happened to the man to make him such a homophobe and such a tool of the Christofascists.  It's as if a "Stepford Wife" transformation was done to him.  Now, Forbes has ratcheted up his batshitery and attacks on gays by pushing the National Republican Congressional Committee to deny any assistance to promising gay Republican candidates.  Given that Forbes is in a safe, gerrymandered district, it's not as if he needs to be pandering so blatantly to the Christofascists at The Family Foundation.  One can only wonder if Forbes is another Ed Schrock - stridently anti-gay to hide the real story.  Politico looks at Forbes quest against gay Republicans.  Here are excerpts: 

Virginia Rep. Randy Forbes, a senior House Republican eyeing a powerful committee chairmanship, is causing friction with some of his colleagues by pushing the House GOP campaign arm to deny support for some of the party’s gay congressional candidates.

Forbes has waged a lengthy crusade to convince his colleagues and the National Republican Congressional Committee brass they shouldn’t back some gay candidates. His efforts on Capitol Hill were described to POLITICO by more than a half-dozen sources with direct knowledge of the talks.

The issue is particularly acute because House Republicans have two promising openly gay candidates in 2014 vying for seats held by Democrats. Richard Tisei, who narrowly lost to Democratic Rep. John Tierney in 2012, is running again in northeastern Massachusetts. And in San Diego, Carl DeMaio, a former city councilman, is trying to knock off Democratic Rep. Scott Peters.

Many senior House Republicans haven’t shied away from giving money to Tisei or DeMaio. The NRCC supported Tisei in 2012, and many top Republicans contributed to his campaign. The political arm of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) gave DeMaio $10,000 in June. And Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) chipped in $5,000 the same month.

On Wednesday, Forbes told POLITICO he thinks “GOP leaders can do whatever they want to do,” in terms of giving money to gay candidates.  He said he is more concerned about members being asked to contribute to the campaigns. The NRCC is partially funded by collecting tens of millions of dollars from House Republicans, who pay dues to the organization.

In an emailed statement to POLITICO in response to this story, NRCC Chairman Greg Walden of Oregon said, “Our decisions on the Republican nominees we support will not be based on race, gender or sexual orientation but will be based on the strength of their candidacy and their ability to defeat Democrats.”

Many Republicans seem willing to back DeMaio. Rep. Darrell Issa, a senior California Republican who has endorsed him, said that “he will be supported by the NRCC when he wins the primary.”
“I will see to that,” said Issa, who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Although Forbes has been lobbying on this issue for some time, it is becoming public now, as his name is being mentioned for the committee chairmanship. Although he hasn’t announced his retirement, many GOP insiders expect current Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) to forgo another bid for election.

We do not need Forbes in a position such as chairman of the Armed Services Committee.  His anti-gay jihad may warm the icy cold heart of Victoria Cobb at The Family Foundation, but it certainly does jibe with a political party's goal of winning elections.

Randy Forbes Defends Right to Discriminate Against Gays

As I have noted in previous posts, Randy Forbes - my one time law school classmate - has turned into a raging homophobe over the years and increasingly supports special rights for those I describe as Christofascists - folks who comprise a Christian Taliban that seeks to impose its views on all just as its Islamic namesake in Afghanistan and other parts of the middle East.  But you don't have to take my words for Forbes' support of exceptions to non-discrimination laws that place the self-anointed "godly folk" above the law.  As Huffington Post reported, Forbes co-authored an op-ed in the Washington Examiner that argued through code words that business owners should be free to refuse to serve LGBT individuals - and by implication, others as  well - based on their "religious faith." Indeed, in Forbes' mind, not allowing godly Christians to discriminate against and abuse others constitutes discrimination against these bigots themselves.  Here are excerpts from Huffington Post's take down of this batshitery:

Chipotle’s right to purchase humanely raised pork is based on the same freedom that would allow a business to discriminate against LGBT individuals, according to a new op-ed from two GOP lawmakers. But much like a messy burrito from the restaurant chain itself, their argument quickly falls apart.

Chipotle recently announced it was taking pork off the menu at many of its restaurants because a major supplier was violating animal welfare standards.

In a new op-ed in the Washington Examiner Wednesday, Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) say business owners similarly should be allowed to make decisions based on their religious beliefs.

The lawmakers don’t name specific issues like LGBT rights in their op-ed, but opponents of same-sex marriage increasingly have been using religious freedom arguments to discriminate in hiring and service — and as a member of the House of Representatives, Lankford himself opposed employment anti-discrimination legislation for LGBT individuals, claiming that being gay is a choice.

Chipotle scoffed at the suggestion its business decisions were similar to religious beliefs that could lead to discrimination.

“It’s a pretty ridiculous comparison,” Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold told The Huffington Post. “Our decision not to serve pork that doesn’t meet our standards isn’t discriminating against any customers or group of customers.”

“Using Chipotle’s business decision to not stock carnitas as a defense to give corporations having religious beliefs special legal protections is ludicrous,” said David Stacy, government affairs director for the Human Rights Campaign. “It adds nothing and indeed trivializes a very serious debate about whether corporations should be able to refuse to hire some employees and turn away some customers based on who they are or who they love.”

Both Forbes and Lankford have made national news before over controversial comments on LGBT issues. . . . In 2013, Forbes privately lobbied the National Republican Congressional Committee not to back gay candidates.

Forbes did not return a request for comment.

In a rapidly changing world, Hampton Roads needs to modernize and prepare for a future where equality and equal rights will attract talent and innovative entrepreneurs.  Yet Forbes wants to take the region - and the country - backward in time.  Moreover, he has opened the region up to national ridicule.  It is long past time that Forbes be sent into political retirement.

National Republican Congressional Committee Likely to Fund Gay Candidates Over Forbes Objections

Perhaps change is coming to the Republican Party after all - at least to those in the Party who do not continue to over dose on Kool-Aid.  And, of course, there are the few pragmatists who understand that the GOP's anti-gay jihad is killing the party's brand with younger voters who will become  crucial as the elderly angry white Christofascists die off.  Why do I say this?  Because despite the efforts of the ever homophobic Rep. J. Randy Forbes, it appears that the National Republican Congressional Committee will fund and support openly gay Republican candidates.  Even the horrid John Boehner has found enough spine to speak out in support of such funding.  The spittle will be flying at The Family Foundation, Family Research Council and other hate groups.  The Oregonian reports that Oregon Rep. Greg Walden, head of the National Republican Congressional Committee, is ignoring Randy Forbes' homophobic whining.  Here are highlights:

Oregon Rep. Greg Walden, who heads the National Republican Congressional Committee, is making it clear that he won't be following the lead of a Virginia GOP congressman who wants Walden's committee to deny funding for openly gay congressional candidates.

Walden told Politico in a statement that the congressional committee -- which plays a key role in providing campaign money to candidates in highly contested races -- won't discriminate against gay candidates.

“Our decisions on the Republican nominees we support will not be based on race, gender or sexual orientation," Walden said, "but will be based on the strength of their candidacy and their ability to defeat Democrats.”

The latest kerfuffle in the culture wars erupted after Politico reported Thursday that Rep. Randy Forbes, a senior GOP congressman from Virginia, was working behind the scenes to deny funding by House Republicans to gay candidates.

Forbes, who has reportedly been angling to become the next chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, has been a staunch opponent of expanding gay rights.  He supports a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage throughout the country and has opposed legislation that would prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

With Forbes' district more frequently voting for Democrats in other races, Forbes really needs to get his nose out of the foul asses of folks like Victoria Cobb, Tony Perkins and Don Wildmon.  As noted above, even spinelss John Boehner has found a voice on this issue as reported by KLPR TV-11:

House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday he believes the GOP should support the party’s openly gay candidates.  “I do,” he said when asked by CNN Chief Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash if he backs such House hopefuls.

His answer comes as a GOP congressman from Virginia is pressuring a national Republican campaign group to withhold financial support for the party’s gay candidates.

In next year’s midterm elections, there are two openly gay GOP candidates who are well positioned to challenge Democratic incumbents. Richard Tisei, a former state lawmaker who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2012, is running again for a Massachusetts seat.

Both candidates would have to face primaries before being guaranteed a spot on the November general election ballot. But if they do win their respective primaries, they’ve been widely praised as potential pick-ups for the GOP in the House. Rep. Patrick McHenry, who serves as the NRCC’s top recruiter, has touted both as top-tier candidates.

In a statement, Forbes said “the definition of marriage is an issue with widely divergent opinions passionately held by both sides.”

“This is true of the Republican Party, as it is of society as a whole,” he continued. “Our goal is to make certain every individual has the right to express his or her belief, while no one is compelled to support financially or otherwise, those who disagree with them. It is my belief that we are trying to strike this balance and we will continue to work to accomplish this goal.”

Asked about Forbes opposition to NRCC money for gay candidates, McHenry–the GOP group’s top recruiter–disagreed with his colleague.

“If you are a top notch candidate you deserve the support of our party infrastructure and what we need to do is get the best candidates to return Republican seats back to Republican hands,” he said Thursday. “My agenda is to field Republican candidates who can beat Democrats, who can be good members of Congress and help solve the nation’s problems.”

My message to Forbes: Randy, come out of the Middle Ages and join the 21st century.  With thousands and thousands of gays serving in the military in Hampton Roads, your bigotry and Homophobia are inappropriate.  I'd also comment that Forbes "doth protest too much."  What happened to the nice guy I once knew?  Any time you'd like to talk, you know where to find me.

Congressman Randy Forbes Demonstrates He's Unfit for Office Yet Again

One would think that having attended Thomas Jefferson's University of Virginia (we were classmates) and no doubt having visited Monticello and Jefferson's grave site a number of times Randy Forbes would have learned at least a tiny bit about the concept of religious freedom and the principle that under the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom - not to mention the United States Constitution - no one religious group gets impose its religious belief system on all other citizens. Sadly, such seems to not be the case as Forbes panders and prostitutes himself to the most hate-filled elements of religion in Virginia and the nation. Indeed, Forbes has his nose so far up the ass of The Family Foundation and hated groups like Family Research Council it's nothing short of a miracle that he hasn't suffocated. Forbes' latest shameless pandering to the Christianists involves a tirade against the new U. S. passport application forms that allow for same sex couples with children to apply for passports for their children. Wake up call to Randy: we DO exist and we're not going away, so GET OVER IT and stop acting more shamelessly than a nasty whore. If you want to cavort with the knuckle draggers, that's your option, but stop violating your oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution - including the guarantee of freedom of religion for all, not just Bible beating Neanderthals. Here's highlights from the Virginian Pilot on Forbes' latest pandering to religious extremists:
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U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes is accusing the State Department of conducting an assault on "traditional American family relationships" by changing how citizens can refer to their parentage on passport applications.
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Forbes is upset that passport forms that now require applicants to provide information about their mother and father will change so that applicants are asked to list two people as "mother/father/parent."
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This week he filed a bill, HR635, that would require the forms retain only the "father" and "mother" categories. The Chesapeake Republican said it will only be a matter of time before the mother and father designation are set aside entirely.
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His bill would "require all federal agencies, contractors, and government-sponsored enterprises to use the words 'mother' and 'father' when describing parents in all official documents and forms," according to a statement by his office.
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James Parrish, executive director of Equality Virginia, a gay rights advocacy group, said he was happy to hear about the passport changes and strongly disagrees with Forbes. "This passport change is doing nothing more than recognize the families that already exist in this nation," he said.