Virginian Pilot: Gay Marriage in Virginia - It's Only a Matter of Time

As previously noted on this blog, a bill that would have begun the process of repealing the heinous anti-gay Marshall Newman Amendment to the Virginia Constitution was quickly killed in a Republican controlled committee of the House of Delegates.  No doubt each of the Republican members of the committee were following the orders they received from The Family Foundation.  But long term, as the aging bigots and Christofascists die off and are replaced by younger voters, both the Virginia GOP and The Family Foundation are fighting a losing battle.  A reality noted by the Virginian Pilot in an editorial that calls it like it is: gay marriage will come to Virginia, it is merely a matter of time.  The only question is how long it will take for Virginia to ceasing being in the desperate rear guard that has enshrined discrimination in its constitution.  Here are editorial highlights:

SOONER or later, Virginians will reverse a 2006 referendum that enshrined discrimination against same-sex couples in the state constitution. But it’s apparently going to take time to persuade the General Assembly to let the public speak again.     

This week, a House subcommittee quietly killed a bill submitted by Del. Scott Surovell, a Fairfax Democrat, that would have started the repeal process.    The measure won the support of only one subcommittee member, Democrat Algie Howell of Norfolk. He and Del.   Daun Hester, a fellow Democrat from Norfolk, were the only lawmakers from the region to sign on as patrons .     

Virginia’s constitutional amendment defines marriage as “only a union between one man and one woman.” To strike the amendment from the Bill of Rights, the legislature would have to vote twice to schedule a statewide referendum. Repeal would not automatically allow same-sex marriage.     

In the seven years since the   amendment’s passage, the tide has begun to turn.    Last fall, voters in Mary-land, Maine and Washington approved measures to allow same-sex marriage. In Minnesota, voters rejected a constitutional ban on gay marriage — becoming the first state since 1998 to vote down such an amendment. 

[A]s Maine’s vote demonstrates, voters are already having second thoughts about the fairness of such prohibitions. Last fall’s referendum reversed a ban approved by voters just three years ago.    Today, nine states, plus the District of Columbia, allow people of the same sex to marry. That’s 15 percent of the U.S. population. And six other states, including New Jersey and Delaware, are considering measures that would allow same-sex marriage.    

Numerous polls indicate that Americans — particularly young people — have grown more accepting of the realities of sexual orientation and see no reason to block gay people from marrying.    In time, Virginia will catch up and correct its mistake. 

 I can only imagine the shrieks and spittle eruption that hit the offices of The Family Foundation  when this editorial was viewed.  As noted in an early post, The Family Foundation and its knuckle dragging followers are the biggest obstacle to progress in Virginia.  The congratulate themselves on their supposed piety yet continue to ignore the true Gospel message.  They are among the strongest arguments in Virginia as to why one would not want to be considered a Christian.