Sen. Ebbin is absolutely correct that it’s not a “question of whether marriage equality will come to Virginia, it is a question of when.” Let’s just hope that “when” comes very soon, and that this dark stain of intolerance is removed from our constitution ASAP.
STATEMENT FROM VIRGINIA STATE SENATOR ADAM P. EBBIN
ON LAWSUIT SEEKING TO OVERTURN SAME-GENDER MARRIAGE BAN AND REFUSAL TO GRANT RECOGNITION TO OUT OF STATE MARRIAGES
I commend the ACLU, Lambda Legal and Jenner and Block for filing a federal class action suit today to strike down Virginia’s ban on same gender marriage and refusal to grant recognition to such out of state marriages.
The plaintiffs and thousands of other gay and lesbian couples deserve the same protections as all those Virginians whose marriages are recognized today. They seek equal treatment under the law, nothing more and nothing less.
I know of too many couples who have left the state due to a lack of the protections now offered to our neighbors in the District of Columbia and Maryland. With a total of thirteen states and DC offering equality to couples, Virginia is at a competitive and economic disadvantage. After all, forward thinking companies of all sizes locate where their diverse workforces will enjoy a high quality of life
It is not a question of whether marriage equality will come to Virginia, it is a question of when. The suit is in keeping with the tradition of Virginians fighting for, and winning, civil liberties; we are both the birthplace of the Bill of Rights and of the Loving vs. Virginia lawsuit that struck down anti-miscegenation laws across the United States.
This is the time for Virginia to wake up from history–as Jefferson said, ‘laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times.'”
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