On Monday, a House of Delegates subcommittee in Virginia voted 6-1 against HJ665, a bill to repeal that State’s constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
HJ665 was introduced on January 9th by Virginia Delegate Scott Surovell (D-). In an interview with the Washington Blade, Surovell said, “people affirming their love to each other and living in committed relationships is a universal human right.”
“It’s a civil right,” Surovell continued. “I don’t think that the constitution should prohibit the government from recognizing people’s love and commitment to each other solely because of their sexual orientation. I think it’s wrong and it’s hateful.”
In a statement to the Washington Blade, Delegate Rob Krupicka (D) said, “Virginia is going to have to re-visit this issue either because the public demands it, because we are forced to by the Supreme Court or because corporations make it clear that they’d rather move to D.C. or Maryland in order to protect their employees. Marshall-Newman is so broadly worded, that it puts even basic contracts in question. Ultimately, I’d like us to be talking about an amendment to add marriage freedom to our constitution. But as today’s action shows, we have work to do to even allow for basic contract rights between two people.”
It looks like supporters of same-sex marriage in Virginia have a lot of work to do to convince the legislature that the discriminatory amendment must be repealed. If you’re looking for a way to help the cause, you may wish to contact Equality Virginia.
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copyright 2013 Irene C. Olszewski, Esq.
Connecticut Lesbian and Gay Law 