"Don't Forget About Virginia"

Mobilizing to defeat a triumvirate of anti-gay politicians in November. By Shane Larson, Co-Chair, NSD Board of Directors

THIS NOVEMBER, FAIR-MINDED Virginia voters have the opportunity to make a strong statement at the ballot box. They will decide whether the state will continue its march toward full equality for its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens, or if that progress will halt or even be forced backwards.

Some of Virginia’s most outspoken opponents of equality are on the ballot; Republican candidates Bob McDonnell, Ken Cuccinelli and Bob Marshall stand in opposition to any additional progress toward LGBT equality in Virginia, and have resolutely opposed the steps that have been made so far.
The national LGBT community has been focused on fights in Maine and Washington this year, and those are important battles we must not lose. But a loss in Virginia will be equally devastating — the results of the elections there will have profound repercussions for our community for years to come.

The recent circulation of Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell’s radical thesis has drawn attention to his conservative social views and, in particular, his hostility toward LGBT people and families. Many Virginians have expressed shock at the beliefs espoused in the thesis, but for those familiar with McDonnell’s public record, his assertion in that thesis that the government should “restrain, punish, and deter” LGBT individuals is hardly surprising. Bob McDonnell’s record in public service is one rife with hostility toward our community’s demand for basic rights.

In 2003, during a fight over the reappointment of Virginia’s first female African-American circuit court judge Verbena Askew, McDonnell worked to bar her reappointment, at least partly based on his suggestion that she was a lesbian. According to a Washington Post story, McDonnell was widely quoted at the time as saying that homosexual activity was “in violation of the law,” and would, thus, cause him to question a person’s qualifications for appointment.

MCDONNELL’S AGGRESSION TOWARD LGBT people did not stop there. During his years in the Assembly, McDonnell repeatedly supported and voted for anti-equality legislation, including a bill that aimed to prevent gays and lesbians from adopting children. In addition, McDonnell was a vocal supporter (and financial backer) of the campaign for the Marshall-Newman amendment to the Virginia Constitution, which prohibits any form of same-sex marriage, civil union or domestic partnership in the state. 

McDonnell’s dedication to fighting even the most basic non-discrimination policies continued after he was elected attorney general. After Gov. Tim Kaine issued an executive order that would have banned employment discrimination based on sexual orientation in the state government, McDonnell stopped the fundamental protection in its tracks by issuing a legal opinion that found the executive order unconstitutional.

But Bob McDonnell isn’t the only anti-equality Republican running for higher office in Virginia.
State Sen. Ken Cuccinelli, the man running to replace McDonnell as attorney general, is also an outspoken opponent of equality for LGBT Virginians. Cuccinelli has pledged to “fight any extension of gay rights,” and stated that “homosexuality is wrong.” And despite being an avowed small government conservative, Cuccinelli has allowed his homophobia to trump his desire to keep the government out of business decisions.

As a state senator, he opposed an effort that would have allowed Virginia companies the ability to offer domestic partner insurance if they wanted to because he did not want to “encourage [that] type of behavior.”

PERHAPS THE MOST egregious opponent of equality on the ballot in Virginia, however, is Del. Bob Marshall, recent candidate for the Republican nomination for governor, current candidate for reelection to the House of Delegates, and, most importantly, the lead author of the aforementioned discriminatory Marshall–Newman amendment to the Virginia Constitution. An AP story described
Marshall as “the General Assembly’s most ardent foe of abortion and gay marriage.”

Marshall highlighted that characterization on his campaign literature, which is hardly surprising, considering in 2005, he introduced legislation that would prevent lesbian couples form using artificial insemination to create a family and block gay couples from becoming parents through surrogacy.

The stakes for LGBT and allied people in Virginia couldn’t be higher. We have the opportunity to defeat this triumvirate of anti-equality Republicans and send the message that there is no place in the Commonwealth of Virginia for their hate-filled politics. Virginia has made progress toward equality for all its citizens and cannot afford to fall backwards with the election of any of these candidates.

That’s why National Stonewall Democrats, in partnership with the Virginia Young Democrats and the Virginia Partisans, are working to mobilize pro-equality voters around the state to ensure these candidates see the end of their political careers in November. If you care about equality, register to vote, turn out on Election Day, and ensure that Virginia doesn’t fall into the wrong hands moving forward.