Virginia Senate, House, Approve Marriage Resolution
The Virginia House approved a constitutional amendment measure to define marriage as between a man and a woman only on Tuesday, a day after a similar resolution easily passed in the state Senate.
The Virginia House approved a constitutional amendment to define marriage as between a man and a woman only on Tuesday, a day after a similar resolution easily passed in the state Senate.
Virginia is one of more than 35 states that ban gay “marriages.” However, only 13 states successfully passed marriage amendment measures to date, leaving the other states vulnerable to court challenges that could possibly overturn marriage laws already in place.
In order for the marriage resolution to become law in Virginia, negotiators in the Senate and the House must reconcile the two versions this year. The measure must pass both chambers next year, and must be approved by the majority of voters in November 2006.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Opponents of the House resolution, which passed 76-18, compared it to the shameful laws that legalized segregation decades earlier.
"Today is one of those moments for which we shall one day be ashamed," said Democrat Adam P. Ebbin, who is gay.
However, the resolution’s supporters shrugged off such charges as unseemly.
"This is not a case where there are separate drinking fountains. There are no lack of voting rights, no segregated schools," said The Family Foundation's executive director, Victoria Cobb.
The marriage amendment resolutions are among many measures this year that address homosexuality in the state. According to the Associated Press, lawmakers in the House have already passed a measure to allow motorists the use of license plates supporting traditional marriage. The House also gave preliminary approval to a measure mandating background investigations of Virginians seeking to adopt children; the investigation process includes the question of whether the applicant is a practicing homosexual.
The Senate Joint Resolution on marriage passed with a vote of 30 to 10, while the House resolution passed with a 78-18 vote.
Pro-family groups meanwhile applauded the passage of the resolutions, calling it a victory for the institution of marriage.
“We are very pleased to see the overwhelming support from the Virginia Legislature for this crucial amendment to the state constitution,” said Concerned Women for America of Virginia State Director Patricia Phillips, who leads the 9,518-member state organization. “Protecting the institution of marriage in the state of Virginia could not be more worthy of our support, considering the impact it will have on the children and families of our communities.”
“Virginia recognizes, along with the 13 states that have already passed similar measures, that a state constitutional amendment is the most effective way to prevent the homosexual lobby from redefining the institution of marriage,” said Michael Bowman, CWA’s director of state legislative relations. “The energy we observed last year on this issue is only growing, with Kansas already slated to vote on a marriage amendment on April 5.”
“Virginia lawmakers are showing that they intend to protect marriage in name, in essence and in the law,” said Robert Knight, director of CWA’s Culture & Family Institute. “We are urging other states to take similarly bold action to preserve marriage from counterfeits.”
“The vote today signaled the starting point in a two-year marathon to educate Virginians about maintaining the integrity of marriage,” said Phillips. “Since marriage is a bi-partisan issue, we expect Virginians to approve the amendment in November 2006 after it passes the General Assembly in the next legislative session.”
The Family Research Council meanwhile urged traditional marriage supporters to “take a moment today to thank your representatives who took a stand to protect marriage.”
