RICHMOND, Va. — The Spanberger for Governor campaign today released a new ad highlighting Winsome Earle-Sears saying that her longstanding support for firing someone from their job for being gay and her opposition to same-sex marriage are “not discrimination” during last week’s gubernatorial debate at Norfolk State University.
The ad, titled “That’s Not Discrimination,” underscores Sears’ decades-long, extreme record of opposing marriage equality and equal rights for all Virginians. Last year, Sears left a handwritten note on a bill passed by the General Assembly — which even Governor Youngkin signed into law — to protect marriage equality, writing she is “morally opposed” to the legislation. And in May 2025, Sears doubled down on her opposition to marriage equality and refused to say that she would support anything other than civil unions for same-sex couples during an interview.
In a recently unearthed candidate survey, Sears pledged to support letting Virginians get fired for being gay and blocking same-sex couples from adopting children — while also calling homosexuality an “immoral lifestyle choice.” Sears also penned an op-ed saying that “society has gone immeasurably beyond almost all standards in accommodating the homosexual community over the last couple of decades.”
Click here to watch Spanberger’s new ad, and read the transcript of “That’s Not Discrimination” below:
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V/O: MAGA Republican Winsome Earle-Sears.
Winsome Earle-Sears: I am speaking.
V/O: And what she says about discrimination is extreme.
News anchor: The Republican candidate for Governor…
News anchor: …hand wrote a note on a bill that passed the General Assembly, implying she’s morally opposed to same-sex marriage.
Abigail Spanberger: My opponent has previously said that she does not think gay couples should be allowed to marry.
Sears: That’s not discrimination!
Spanberger: My opponent has also previously said that she thinks it’s okay for someone to be fired from their job for being gay. That is discrimination.
Sears: That’s not discrimination!
V/O: Yes, Lieutenant Governor. It is.
V/O: And what you said about rights, couldn’t be more wrong.
V/O: Winsome Earle-Sears: So far right she’s wrong for Virginia.
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