Following
the
lead
of
13
other
states
that
enacted
constitutional
amendments
to
ban
same-sex
marriage
this
year,
the
Virginia
legislature
plans
to
consider
its
own
amendment
next
month,
despite
sweeping
state
laws
that
already
prohibit
gay
marriage.
Del.
John
Cosgrove
(R-Chesapeake)
has
announced
his
intent
to
introduce
HJ
528
when
the
2005
session
opens
on
Jan.
12.
Cosgrove
drafted
HJ
528
to
amend
Article
I,
Section
16-A
of
the
Virginia
Constitution
by
adding
two
sentences
stipulating
that
a
“marriage
may
exist
only
between
one
man
and
one
woman.”
The
proposed
legislation
further
states
that
no
provision
of
the
Virginia
Constitution
should
be
interpreted
to
require
the
state
to
permit
or
recognize
same-sex
unions
of
any
kind,
thus
preventing
state
judges
from
requiring
the
state
to
enact
other
forms
of
legal
recognition
for
gay
couples,
including
civil
unions.
To
some
Virginia
legislators
and
gay
residents
of
the
state,
the
addition
of
yet
another
measure
preventing
gays
from
marrying
in
Virginia
seems
redundant.
To
social
conservatives,
it
emerges
as
a
necessary
means
of
ensuring
same-sex
unions
are
never
recognized
by
the
state.
“Unfortunately,
legislation
that
uses
the
‘boogeyman’
of
gay
marriage
in
Virginia
has
done
quite
well,
and
[2005]
is
an
election
year,”
said
Adam
Ebbin
(D-Arlington),
who
said
he
expected
the
bill
as
a
political
maneuver.
“With
the
redistricting
of
the
state
and
the
tax
changes,
moderate
Republicans
face
a
real
challenge
from
the
far
right.
They
are
running
scared.”
Republicans
in
the
Virginia
Legislature
did,
however,
score
a
significant
victory
last
year
with
the
implementation
of
the
Marriage
Affirmation
Act
—
the
nation’s
first
ban
on
civil
unions
—
which
went
as
far
as
to
strictly
curtail
legal
agreements
between
people
of
the
same
sex.
Though
the
new
law
mobilized
a
large
contingent
of
previously
quiescent
gay
Virginians
to
take
to
the
streets
in
protest,
those
same
newly
minted
activists
now
face
a
double-whammy:
overturning
the
Marriage
Affirmation
Act
and
blocking
the
ratification
of
a
marriage
amendment.
Gay
activists
say
they
plan
to
go
to
Richmond
in
January
prepared
for
not
only
Cosgrove’s
bill,
but
other
copycat
amendments.
“We
have
already
launched
efforts
to
stop
this
and
we
will
not
rest
until
this
hateful
attempt
is
stopped,”
said
Joseph
Price,
an
attorney
and
the
board
chair
of
Equality
Virginia,
the
state’s
largest
gay
rights
group,
in
a
statement.
Price
asserted
that
leaders
and
supporters
of
gay
rights
in
Virginia
have
been
meeting
over
the
past
several
months
to
strategize
a
comprehensive
statewide
education
campaign
to
combat
the
legislation.
“This
amendment
is
no
more
than
a
political
trick
aimed
at
dividing
the
citizens
of
Virginia,”
he
said.
Equality
Virginia
has
scheduled
a
lobbying
day
for
Jan.
13,
the
day
after
the
session
begins.
But
the
opposition
will
also
arrive
primed
—
and
riding
the
crest
of
Election
Day
approval
of
same-sex
marriage
bans
in
11
states.
The
Virginia
Family
Foundation,
a
powerful
social
conservative
lobbying
organization,
and
Del.
Cosgrove
did
not
return
calls
by
press
time.
Some
moderate
legislators
and
constitutional
law
scholars
acknowledged
the
watershed
impact
from
the
success
of
amendments
in
such
states
as
Ohio,
Michigan
and
Oregon
—
the
one
state
where
gay-rights
activists
hoped
to
prevail.
Many
begrudgingly
admitted
that,
thanks
to
the
nationwide
support,
anti-gay
rights
groups
have
an
unforeseen
advantage.
“If
it
passed
in
Michigan
and
it
passed
in
Oregon,
then
I
believe
that
if
it
gets
on
the
ballot,
it
will
surely
pass
in
Virginia,”
said
Michael
Klarman,
a
professor
of
constitutional
law
at
the
University
of
Virginia.
“This
amendment
is
all
political.
Every
state
must
honor
the
full-faith
and
credit
clause
of
the
U.S.
Constitution,
but
states
have
long
had
an
exception
for
public
policy,
which
virtually
no
court
would
ignore.”
Gov.
Mark
Warner
has
indicated
that,
while
he
does
not
support
same-sex
marriage,
he
does
not
believe
in
extending
restrictions
beyond
those
already
in
place,
according
to
a
spokesperson.
‘Unfortunately,
legislation
that
uses
the
boogeyman
of
gay
marriage
in
Virginia
has
done
quite
well,’
said
Adam
Ebbin
(D-Arlington),
a
gay
member
of
the
state
Assembly.
|
Though
the
social
climate
in
Virginia
favors
Cosgrove’s
proposed
amendment,
state
protocol
requires
numerous
steps
for
changes
to
the
state
constitution
—
one
of
the
nation’s
oldest
and
Thomas
Jefferson’s
precursor
to
the
U.S.
Constitution.
Since
the
original
constitution’s
enactment
in
1776
—
and
its
revision
in
1971
—
voters
have
amended
it
only
a
handful
of
times,
most
notably
to
overturn
laws
that
fostered
school
segregation
after
the
Supreme
Court’s
decision
in
Brown
vs.
Board
of
Education.
Virginia’s
constitutional
amendment
process
has
three
steps,
according
to
John
Harrison,
another
University
of
Virginia
constitutional
scholar.
First,
the
proposed
amendment
must
pass
by
a
majority
in
both
houses
of
the
Virginia
Legislature.
Then
an
identical
...
