Tuesday, April 2, 2013
As the Supreme Court debates and after 13 years in a committed relationship, Lawrence Webb and Clifton Taylor are glad to see progress in the fight for gay marriage.
Editor's Note: Our 31 Virginia and D.C. Patches are filled with people who have faced obstacles and overcome them. Their success is worth sharing, and today we share a feature that originally ran last week on our Falls Church Patch. Look for more highlighted stories soon. Marriage wasn’t a major point of discussion for Falls Church residents Lawrence Webb and Clifton Taylor when they met 13-years ago. Back then, Webb said, there was hesitation to push for gay marriage. For Webb and Taylor, it’s not about brandishing shiny rings to symbolize a unity, but the ability to join in a union regardless of public opinion. “I don’t know why there is an issue with gay marriage when 50 percent of heterosexual marriages don’t work,” Taylor said. As …
Monday, April 1, 2013
Significantly more Virginians support same-sex marriage than did in 2006, when Virginia voters passed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman.
As nationwide support grows for same-sex marriage, so goes Virginia. Forty-six percent of Virginians oppose same-sex marriage and 45 percent support allowing it, according to a poll from the University of Mary Washington. That’s a marked change from 2006, when 57 percent of Virginia voters approved an amendment to the Virginia Constitution defining marriage as something between one man and one woman. Researchers from Princeton Survey Research Associates on behalf of the University of Mary Washington surveyed more than 1,000 Virginia residents between March 20 – 24 this year, completing the survey just as the U.S. Supreme Court started hearing arguments on two cases related to same-sex marriage rights. Decisions in those cases are pending…
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
State Sen. Adam Ebbin, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner among those who have changed their profile pictures.
You probably have seen a red square with a pink equals sign on it in your Facebook, Twitter and other social media feeds lately — a symbol that stands for marriage equality. It stems from an effort by the Human Rights Campaign that coincides with oral arguments being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court this week regarding the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act. DOMA, as it is known, allows the federal government to discriminate against same-sex couples. The equality symbol signifies that marriage really is all about love, according to the Human Rights Campaign. "It's nice for people on Facebook to see their Facebook friends standing up, and seeing so many people doing that," said state Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria. Ebbin, who is…
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Comments on our weekend Patch Poll focus largely on God v. Man, religious doctrine v. secular law. How about your views, Arlington?
When people want to have their say, they really want to have their say. When Patch ran a poll on Sunday about whether it's time for gay marriage to be legal in Virginia, the comments came pouring in -- and that continues. The poll ran on all 31 Patch sites in Virginia and D.C., and comments tended to lean toward what's called for in the Bible and religious doctrine versus what's called for in the Constitution and secular law. "I'm not a homophobic but I am anti-gay marriage," commented Robert Marcum. "I think it goes against every religious and moral fiber this country was founded on. It's just one more way the liberals and this new generation is taking God out of everything. The bible says Jesus will return some day and I think he's going…
Sunday, February 17, 2013
A law banning same-sex marriage in Virginia didn't stop couples from applying for marriage licenses in protest on Valentine's Day. Is it time to revisit the ban?
On Valentine's Day, Tom Nichols and Dan Chadburn of Falls Church were one of three same-sex couples to apply for a marriage license at the Arlington County Courthouse. They were one of three same-sex couples taking part Thursday in a low-key but determined "Witness for Marriage" demonstration organized by People of Faith for Equality in Virginia and Equality Virginia. Demonstrations were also held in Charlottesville, Hampton, Richmond and Winchester, all promoting, as The Huffington Post put it, the same simple message: Love is love. The problem for these couples and many others, of course, is that Virginia law prohibits same-sex marriage; an attempt by local Del. Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) to repeal the ban failed again in this year's …
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Legislators join activists, fellow lawmakers in Richmond to call for change.
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Saturday, February 16
By Amber Galaviz, Capital News Service State officials joined gay rights activists at a press conference Thursday to discuss their disappointment in Virginia's failure to repeal the state's constitutional ban against same-sex marriage in this year's General Assembly session. “I believe that marriage is about loving, committed couples wanting to make lifelong promises to each other – take care of each other, be responsible for each other and support each other,” Del. Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) said at the event at the General Assembly Building. “And I think that if anybody – gay, straight – wants to stand up in front of their family and friends and make that commitment to grow old together, it’s not for me, or the judge or the state to …
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Kären Rasmussen and Barb Brehm, both longtime Fairfax County residents, attempted to apply for a marriage license at the Fairfax County Courthouse on Valentine's Day.
Annandale residents Kären Rasmussen and Barb Brehm didn't walk into the Fairfax County Courthouse on Tuesday afternoon with high hopes. They knew Virginia law denies same-sex couples the right to marry and, despite the fact the partners have committed themselves to each other for the past 27 years, Valentine's Day proved no exception. Fairfax Circuit Court Clerk John Frey met Rasmussen and Brehm in the lobby of the courthouse and escorted them to a conference room. The women filled out paperwork necessary to obtain a marriage certificate and Frey provided a letter explaining why state law would not permit him to issue one. "Mr. Frey was incredibly gracious," Brehm said. "That doesn't mean it was wrong to ask and to keep asking." Nearly 300…
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Ivy
12:02 pm on Friday, May 3, 2013
U try to preach as if u have the right to judge....ur god says "Thou shalt not judge..." he also says "let he without sin cast the first stone..." I highly doubt that u are w/o sin so who are u to judge me n my fellow LGBT Community members...If u base ur views purely on ur "bible" then u to r a sinner, a deviant n immoral...."1The Lord said to Moses... Do not steal..Do not lie..Do not deceive … more ›