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A federal court in Virginia has ruled that Virginia’s ban on same sex marriage is unconstitutional, but the ruling was suspended in anticipation of an appeal, meaning no same sex marriages will yet be recognized in Virginia pending that appeal.
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Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Justices of the Supreme Court, members of the General Assembly, and my fellow Virginians. It is an honor for me to stand here tonight, before this great joint assembly, as the 72nd Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
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Today Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia are filing a motion for summary judgment asking the court for a swift resolution to the harm and indignity same-sex couples face without marriage.
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Today Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia are filing a federal class action lawsuit seeking the freedom to marry for all same-sex couples in Virginia as well as an end to Virginia’s refusal to recognize marriages same-sex couples have legally entered elsewhere. The case was filed on behalf of Joanne Harris and Jessica Duff of Staunton and Christy Berghoff and Victoria Kidd of Winchester and seeks to represent all same-sex couples in Virginia who wish to marry here or who have married in other jurisdictions.
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Why is it that some of Virginia’s urban politicians show so little respect for the citizens of our rural counties? I refer to State Sens. Dick Saslaw (D) of Springfield and John Watkins (R) of Midlothian, who have co-sponsored a bill (SB 1341) before the General Assembly that would override local authority over the siting of commercial wind energy projects. They follow in the footsteps of State Senator Frank Wagner (R) of Virginia Beach, who for years has worked on behalf of corporate wind and against the interests of rural communities.
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The only thing predictable about a “short” session is that the days will be full and pass by quickly. We are more than a third of the way through the 46 day session and had real fireworks this past week. On Monday, the nation celebrated Martin Luther King Day and the second inauguration of President Barack Obama. Nevertheless, since the Virginia Constitution calls for the General Assembly to be in session, we were hard at work considering bills and resolutions. All legislation has importance to someone, but overshadowing those bills was a tactic involving redistricting that was sprung on the Senate at the close of business on Monday afternoon.
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In the very near future Virginia will receive its official population numbers from the 2010 census. Our numbers are among the first to be issued because our off-year elections require us to redraw our legislative district lines in time for the 2011 fall elections. Follow the progress of the census results being made available at…
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Independent Sixth District congressional candidate Jeff Vanke released a Contract with Western Virginia today at an event in Roanoke – highlighting a promise to voters similar to one made by nine-term incumbent Bob Goodlatte 18 years ago. “One point of my contract is to promise, on my Eagle Scout’s honor, to hold this seat for…
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Del. Mark L. Cole of Fredericksburg today announced that the redistricting subcommittee of the House of Delegates Committee on Privileges and Elections has scheduled a series of six public hearings throughout the Commonwealth to encourage broad public input into the redistricting process. The public hearings will take place in September, October and December in preparation…
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Item by Chris Graham [email protected] Sixth District Democratic Party congressional nominee Sam Rasoul wants to get on a stage with Republican incumbent Bob Goodlatte to debate the issues of the day in front of Western Virginia voters. Rasoul today proposed a schedule of six debates – two each in the Roanoke, Lynchburg and Shenandoah Valley…
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