Two Men Obtain Marriage License in Newport News, Participate in Marriage Ceremony in Norfolk

The Virginian Pilot is reporting that two men were married by a Norfolk marriage commissioner based on a marriage license secured in neighboring Newport News. No doubt Virginia Attorney General Robert "Taliban Bob" McDonnell and Pat Robertson will be most displeased. I suspect that a way will be found to charge the men with something to make an example of them. Here are story highlights:

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Two men who obtained a marriage license in Newport News participated in a marriage ceremony before a commissioner in Norfolk, the clerk of the Newport News court said Thursday. One of the men appeared to be a woman, and gave his name as the bride when they filled out the application in March, said Court Clerk Rex Davis. Deputies grew suspicious of the man’s gender when he returned to the courthouse on May 12 to change his name, Davis said.

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Davis said the marriage is not valid in Virginia, which bans same-sex marriage by state law and the state’s constitution. Davis said the case was referred to the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office and the police to determine whether the men had broken a law by providing false information on the marriage certificate.

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Like Gambain president, Jammeh, McDonnell and those like him in Virginia see the state as theirs and to hell with the rights and beliefs of other residents.

Bob "Taliban Bob" McDonald and Executive Order 1 (2006)

Current Virginia Attorney General Robert McDonnell earned the nickname "Taliban Bob" back five years ago when he spear headed the drive to deny Verbena Askew, a black female judge in Newport News, reappointment on to the bench due to rumors that Askew might - Heaven forbid - be a lesbian. As CNS News reported at the time:

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Delegate Robert McDonnell (R-Virginia Beach) recently said Askew's homosexuality might prevent her from being sworn in for a second eight-year term. Virginia's "crimes against nature" law strictly prohibits anal and oral sex between consenting adults, regardless of gender.Speaking as chairman of the Virginia House Committee on Courts of Justice, McDonnell reportedly said Askew's homosexual conduct "certainly raises some questions about the qualifications to serve as a judge."Askew is the first female African-American circuit court judge in Virginia and one of 60 judges statewide whose terms expire this year.

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Robert Knight, director of the Culture and Family Institute in Washington, D.C., added that people who are openly homosexual make their sexuality part of their identity."I don't think there's any homosexual without the 'sexual'. In other words, this idea of identity without actions is nonsense, it's non-existent," Knight said. "To forge an identity based on engaging in a wrongful activity such as homosexuality shows, at the least, lack of judgment."

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McDonnell, a regent Law Scholl graduate, who "could not recall" if he had ever violated Virginia's sodomy law by a news reporter (the law, which outlawed pretty much anything other than missionary position heterosexual sex, was struck down by the ruling in Lawrence v. Texas), has opposed any form of legal rights for gays at every opportunity. Moreover, in a non-binding opinion, he opined that Virginia's Governors do not have the power to protect LGBT citizens by way of executive orders. Now, as the Washington Blade has reported, the are questions about enforcement of employment non-discrimination protections put in place by former Governor Mark Warner and renewed by Governor Tim Kaine in the form of Executive Order 1 (2006). Investigations typically take about 120 days, while this one has languished for well over a year. Check out the Blade article and draw your own conclusions.