Saturday, August 15, 2009

Anti-gay Virginia Lawmaker Bob Marshall

Delegate Bob Marshall (R-Prince William), pictured at left, is one of the most homophobic and gay hating members of the Virginia General Assembly. He even once stated that he hoped Virginia's anti-gay laws - most of which he helped author, including the anti-gay marriage Marshall-Newman amendment to Virginia's Constitution - would cause LGBT citizens to leave Virginia. As the November elections approach, much effort will be focused on defeating Marshall and ridding the House of Delegates of one of its most poisonous members. Marshall - like most of the darlings of The Family Foundation and Pat Robertson - believes that he should be allowed to inflict his hate based religious views on all Virginians. Marshall is truly a nasty piece of work and one can only hope that with the changing demographics in Northern Virginia he will be sent into retirement and cease being a voice for anti-gay bigotry in Richmond. Here are some highlights from the Washington Blade on this important contest:
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A longtime opponent of LGBT rights is seeking to retain his seat in the Virginia House of Delegates in the face of increased pressure from activists seeking to remove him from office.Del. Bob Marshall (R-Prince William), one of the few remaining social conservatives from Northern Virginia still holding public office, will attempt to hold onto his 13th District seat in November. Challenging Marshall for the House seat is John Bell, an Air Force veteran of 26 years who served as a comptroller for military operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Marshall drew the ire of LGBT residents after he became chief sponsor of the Marshall-Newman Amendment, which in 2006 codified a ban on same-sex marriage and civil unions in the Virginia Constitution.
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Marshall also criticized a long-suffering bill that would allow Virginia companies to extend life insurance policies to the same-sex partners of employees.“When I read homosexual literature and magazines, the average income of homosexuals is much higher than that of heterosexual couples,” he said. “If I believed your magazine and homosexual rights’ so-called proponents, there’s no need for that.”
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Marshall’s opponent in the race has virtually the opposite position on every issue impacting gay residents. Bell said during a Blade interview Aug. 7 that he’s “very strongly a supporter of equality for every citizen” and is bothered when someone tries to take away rights from other people. “Bob has pretty much led the assault every year on the right to choose, and also has assaulted especially the gay and lesbian community with Marshall-Newman and other amendments he’s done and bills he’s introduced,” Bell said.
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Bell said he supports same-sex marriage and called the Marshall-Newman Amendment “a disgrace to the Commonwealth of Virginia.” “I believe it’s a black mark on our state,” he said. “It enshrines our Constitution with discrimination. I believe the Constitution should guarantee the rights of citizens, not guarantee taking them away.” Bell said he would not only vote to repeal the amendment, but would sponsor such an initiative. He also said he’d support legislation prohibiting bias in the public and private workforces based on sexual orientation and would support legislation allowing Virginia companies to provide life insurance benefits to the same-sex partners of employees.
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Bell said he thinks he can defeat Marshall because of the changing demographic in Loudoun and Prince William counties, noting the growth and development of the 13th District.“Last year, President Obama won the district and also [Democrat U.S. Sen.] Mark Warner won the district with a big margin,” he said. “So we know that there are enough Democratic voters in the district now to win.” . . . the race in the 13th District is important because many gay Virginians detest Marshall.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

As a strong supporter of John Bell I hope your friends and readers will do what they can to help John get elected. I'm working everyday canvassing for John and I can see how favorably his message is being received by the voters in the 13th. I don't see any option short of retiring Mr. Marshall from elected office.