var addthis_config = {“data_track_addressbar”:true};
Lawmakers in Virginia have introduced seven new bills to repeal their state law and constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Newly-sworn-in Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe would likely sign any of them, but they will have to pass both the House and the Senate — both of which remain under Republican control.
Touting that same-sex marriage is “on an irreversible course and we’re gonna get it done,” Virginia Democratic Delegate Joseph Morrissey told GayRVA, “I am not confident it’ll pass this year, but I do know this with absolute certainty: Our commonwealth and the country is on a irreversible path to allow same-sex marriages. When the Supreme Court of the United States overruled part of (the Defense of Marriage Act), they made it clear in their language that it is humiliating to children of same-sex marriage couples to have these restrictions.”
Mike Platania at GayRVA says that there “isn’t much hope for the passage of these bills, Virginia’s Republican controlled house will probably kill any attempts to amend the issue in committee meeting, but a floor vote on the issue would put the state’s elected officials on record over the issue for the first time since 2006.”
Meanwhile, 55 percent of Virginia residents support same-sex marriage, while only 37 percent oppose it (PDF). And 56 percent of likely voters oppose their state’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage (PDF).
The legal team that took down California’s Prop 8 has refocused their efforts on Virginia. Ted Olson and David Boies in September announced they were joining an existing case that would, if successful, find the Commonwealth’s constitutional ban unconstitutional.