Va. House Passes Gay Marriage Ban
By Bob Lewis
Associated Press
Tuesday, February 8, 2005; 4:35 PM
RICHMOND -- The House of Delegates passed a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage Tuesday, despite a warning from the state's first openly gay legislator that the measure will one day shame the state as slavery and racial segregation laws did.
The House voted 78-18 to complete passage of a resolution similar to one the Senate easily passed on Monday.
"Today is one of those moments for which we shall one day be ashamed," said Del. Adam P. Ebbin, D-Alexandria, elected in 2003 by voters who knew he was gay. "I cannot stand by as this body continues to use gays and lesbians as scapegoats."
He likened them to slavery, the forced Trail of Tears migration for Indians, lynchings, anti-miscegenation laws and Massive Resistance, Virginia's official effort to thwart court-ordered public school desegregation.
"You may argue that these are different, but I would say that discrimination is discrimination is discrimination," Ebbin said.
Supporters of the amendment contend it is vital to preserving marriage applying uniquely to one woman and one man and warding off court rulings such as one in Massachusetts which make gay marriage legal.
"If we do not act today, marriage as we know it will be redefined by the judicial process," said Del. Kathy J. Byron, R-Campbell County.
The House rejected an amendment by Del. James M. Scott, D-Fairfax County, that would have left the ban against gay marriage intact but eliminate provisions that would also prohibit civil unions or contractual agreements between two people of the same sex that approximate the privileges of marriage.
The House resolution by differs slightly from the version passed on a 30-10 vote in the Senate, so negotiators from the House and Senate will have to reconcile the differences.
The lopsided House vote on the most contentious moral issue of the session came nearly 10 months before all 100 House seats are up for election. It also puts Virginia on track to follow 11 states where voters last year ratified gay marriage bans to their constitutions.
Virginia voters, however, could vote on the measure no sooner than November of 2006. To amend Virginia's constitution, a resolution must pass the General Assembly twice with a legislative election in between before it is put to a statewide referendum. |
