U.S. Senate candidate Robert Sarvis on gay marriage ruling

“Marriage freedom is a deeply important issue to me, which is why I made it a centerpiece of my campaign for governor last year.

“In 1967, a Virginia couple, Richard and Mildred Loving, fought to overturn marriages between people of different races. If it weren’t for the courage of the Lovings, I might not have been able to marry the woman I love.

“Public opinion in Virginia has shifted dramatically since the Marshall-Newman Amendment was enacted in 2006. In fact, polls now show that a majority of Virginians support marriage freedom.

“I wanted Virginia to achieve marriage freedom through the democratic process, but as with interracial marriage, it is court action that has seen it through. I look forward to seeing same-sex couples in Virginia celebrating their marriages and enjoying equal treatment under the law.”

“Ed Gillespie is now calling marriage a ‘states rights issue’ — a starkly different approach than the one he took when he was Chairman of the Republican National Committee and pushed for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriage.”