RICHMOND, June 21, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A law has been passed by a veto-proof majority in the Virginia legislature that bans any “partnership contract or other arrangement between persons of the same sex purporting to bestow the privileges or obligations of marriage.” Virginia already has legislation that defines marriage as being only between a man and a woman, the new law will prohibit any form of counterfeit “marriage” or civil union between homosexual partners. Democrat Mark Warner had proposed to insert an amendment that would have struck out key clauses, but what is being called a “bipartisan supermajority” decisively defeated the attempt to water down the bill. “What the Virginia Legislature has done is a great example for other states to follow in protecting our country from counterfeit marriage,” said Jan LaRue, Concerned Women for America’s chief counsel.
The legislation states: “A civil union, partnership contract or other arrangement between persons of the same sex purporting to bestow the privileges or obligations of marriage is prohibited. Any such civil union, partnership contract or other arrangement entered into by persons of the same sex in another state or jurisdiction shall be void in all respects in Virginia and any contractual rights created thereby shall be void and unenforceable.” Virginia already has laws that prohibit homosexual partners from adopting children, and the General Assembly resisted attempts to rewrite the laws against sodomy after the U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down a similar ban in Texas. The bill’s sponsor, Del. Robert Marshall, has said that the sole intention of the bill was to prevent recognition of domestic partnerships that “bestow the privileges or obligations of marriage.” According to the Pilot, the Attorney General wrote Marshall that he would defend the statute if it were challenged in court. The bill passed the House by a vote of 69-31 and the Senate by a vote of 27-12. It will go into effect July 1st.
Read Concerned Women for America media release: http://states.cwfa.org/articledisplay.asp?id=5569&department=FIELD&categoryid=family