Posted on 06/17/2004 8:29:22 PM PDT by Stoat
Delegate Bob Marshall of Manassas, sponsor of recent Pro-Family legislation in Virginia, is under assault by homosexual activists and pro-gay "marriage" advoactes who have scheduled to picket his personal residence. I don't live in Virginia (in fact I live on the opposite side of the country) but I thought that Virginia Freepers might like to know about this so that you can organize a counter-protest and show support for someone who is defending the traditional family in the great State of Virginia. Here is the info on the scheduled picketing (scroll about halfway down the page till you get to the Manassas section):
http://standupforequality.org/events.html
"Manassas Saturday, June 26, 12 noon - 3 p.m. March Meet at Judicial Center, 9311 Lee Avenue, Manassas, Virginia 2 blocks east of Grant Avenue (234 Business) Use Mapquest to get directions to Judicial Center. Sponsored by Equality Prince William
2 mile march (approximately 1 hour duration) through Old Town Manassas and part of Prince William County. End: 7790/7700 Willow Pond Ct. (cul-de-sac) March past the home of Delegate Bob Marshall, the sponsor of HB 751.
After march, participants will eat and converse at local restaurant to be determined.
For more information, send e-mail to EPW-Announce@lists.waldo.net or UzBx@aol.com"
Delegate Marshall informed me of this himself after I sent him a warm email thanking him for helping to defend traditional marriage. He is fighting the good fight for our civilization and he (and his family) doesn't deserve this sort of harassment. I'm new to Free Republic and I don't know any Virginia Freepers to send this information to directly. My hope is that you good folks will be able to take this information and assemble a good contingent of folks who will remind these people who aim to overturn thousands of years of civilization that they are fighting the wrong fight.
Here is Delegate Marshall's letter to me, which includes a nice op-ed article that he wrote for the Virginian Pilot newspaper:
"Thank you very much for your support of my efforts here in Virginia to uphold real marriage against counterfeits.
This is causing some controversy here. In fact, my own home will be picketed! (see http://standupforequality.org/events.html) and scroll down a bit. There also will be demonstrations across Virginia on June 30.
I am enclosing a copy of an op-ed that I did in response to the Virginian Pilot’s opposition to my HB 751 and endorsement of the Homosexual agenda. A better e-mail for contacting me is delegatebobmarshall@trincomm.org.
Thank you and say a few prayers for our efforts.
Delegate Bob Marshall
Legislators, Most Virginians Support Traditional Marriage Delegate Bob Marshall
Your on-going Soap Opera coverage on behalf of same-sex marriage or civil unions presents a misleading picture of the legal rights homosexuals now enjoy in Virginia, the real goals of homosexual leaders and the effect of my bill House Bill 751 -- The Marriage Affirmation Act.
Simply put HB 751 states that 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, and that such an arrangement entered into in another state or jurisdiction is void in Virginia and any resulting contractual rights are void and unenforceable in Virginia.
HB 751 is no different from actions announced on May 27 by the Australian Attorney General: “Australia will not recognize same-sex marriages entered into under the laws of any other country .… The Government is fundamentally opposed to same sex couples adopting children. … [C]hildren have the right … to have the opportunity to be raised by a mother and a father. The Government will … legislate to prevent adoptions by same-sex couples under international agreements (from) being recognized.”
HB 751 received the support of over two-thirds of the General Assembly even with media elites and the Governor working going extra innings to confuse the issue. Most people are at a loss and wonder why the obvious has to be explained, namely that marriage is between one man and one woman and is fundamental to an orderly human society.
Marriage between a man and a woman is the first human relationship mentioned in Genesis and is called “very good.” Moses, in Leviticus, calls sodomy relationships an abomination. St. Paul calls homosexual acts “shameful lusts” and “indecent acts.” Yet, the Pilot says it’s “progress.” Well, I guess great minds can disagree!
Regarding the amendment proposed by Governor Warner, Attorney General Kilgore said that the “recommendation would allow a same-sex couple who enter into a domestic partnership agreement in a state where such agreement is recognized as tantamount to marriage or a ‘civil union,’ to then move to Virginia and demand the Commonwealth recognize the agreement … as bestowing on each other all the privileges and obligations of marriage.”
The day before this year’s Veto Session in Richmond, an Oregon Judge “ordered” that state’s legislature “to evaluate the substantive rights afforded to married couples and to provide similar access to same-sex domestic partners.”
Attorney General Kilgore says HB 751 does not prohibit homosexuals or others from entering into “business partnership agreements, medical directives, joint back accounts, or any other rights or privileges not exclusive to the institution of marriage.”
I venture The Pilot would not even print descriptions of some of the lethal, life-shortening, disease-producing behaviors that would be legal under the name of same-sex civil unions and the like. (“The Health Risks of Gay Sex,” John R. Diggs, Jr., M.D., http://www.corporateresourcecouncil.org/white_papers.html.)
This year, Equality-Virginia (EV) also strongly opposed HB 1054 which provided that, “Any person who carnally knows in any manner in a public place any person by the anus or by or with the mouth, or who voluntarily submits to such carnal knowledge is guilty of a Class 6 felony.”
EV called HB 1054 which passed the House 97-1 an “anti-gay bill that would have allowed continued harassment, intimidation and persecution of gay and lesbian Virginians.” So, to criminalize sex in public is now gay-bashing? Really?
Establishing any form of same sex legal unions (SSLU) such as marriage, civil union, or domestic partnership will legalize coercion against individuals and organizations which do not support SSLU. Here are real world examples.
Kodak fired a 16-year employee who inadvertently sent an e-mail to unintended fellow workers asking that they pray for the company because Kodak approved a same-sex partner policy. AT&T brashly states, “Diversity is not about tolerance.”
Right now the New York City’s Salvation Army which has contracts with the City totaling $250 million to help the poor, abandoned children, battered women and AIDS patients, may leave because the City may require the Salvation Army to provide domestic partner benefits to same-sex and unmarried couples in violation of the Army’s religious beliefs.
Earlier this year the ACLU forced a Seattle printer to apologize for acting on her religious beliefs in refusing to print up same-sex wedding announcements. She promised she would not follow her religious beliefs and she would print same-sex wedding announcements in the future.
What “message” will school children receive about marriage and how will their feelings be played upon in classroom sex-ed if their teachers are in civil unions?
The societal value of traditional marriage and the welfare of children are too important to sacrifice for a radical social experiment. Yes, great minds can disagree, but The Pilot should at least acknowledge the serious, heartfelt and valid concerns of the overwhelming majority of Virginians regarding formal state recognition of same sex legal unions.
I appreciate the post, but you need to keep in mind that we are a commonwealth, not a state. There's no real difference, but we are a commonwealth.
My apologies...I stand corrected
(((((embarrassed face))))
All true-- we are facing this onslaught at both the state and federal levels. Next month the U.S. Senate will consider the passage of a Federal Marriage Amendment that would forever secure marriage as a bond between one man and one woman.
Here's what Gary Bauer says about the amendment:
"The failure to pass an amendment," said Mr. Bauer, "will give a green light to liberal judges all across the country and the consequences will be devastating. The words 'husband' and 'wife' will be meaningless. Homosexual adoption will be instantly legalized and generations of children will be raised in wholly unnatural environments - deprived of ever having the benefit of a mother and a father. The public schools will teach your children that two men 'marrying' each other are morally equivalent to one man and one woman. It's legal, so it must be okay! Our kids will be taught how to perform 'safe sodomy' in their sex education classes. Churches will be pressured to either abandon the Scriptures or lose their tax exempt status if they refuse to 'marry' homosexuals. That would be discrimination, after all!"
As usual, Mr. Bauer states the matter perfectly. My hope is that the sane and healthy people of the United States (including the COMMONWEALTH of Virginia) will rise up and support everyone who defends traditional marriage....the future of our civilization depends on it.
That law will be passing here, btw. You'd like it here.
That's great to hear! And I'm sure that I'd enjoy Virginia....the pictures I've seen are beautiful and I love American history. Also, I've gotten the impression that there are a whole lot more sane and healthy people living in Virginia than where I live ((sad))
Maybe some day.... :-)
(((sigh)))
Maybe some day.... :-)
There are a bunch of commies who live near DC, but the rest of the commonwealth is pretty nice. We get some snow, but not too much. Right now the fireflies are out. The cardinal is our "state" bird. We've got rivers.
You know what a nice 3/2 costs here? Maybe about $130,000.
Have a look around Lexington sometime. That's where Washington & Lee University is located.
Off topic, but I read on Tom Harkin's website his thanks to Senator Warner for helping him pass his amendment to the Military Budget bill which kicks Rush Limbaugh off military airwaves.
Seems he's as useless a Republican as AZ Senator McCain.
That sounds fantastic.....a similar house where I am (Seattle) would be 2-3 times that price, and likely not in a very safe neighborhood. Our City Council is hard to distinguish from that of San Francisco or Berkeley.
We don't get snow very much but we do get lots of rain over the course of most of the year.
Just today our State Supreme Court overturned a key law...people who cause the death of another person but don't MEAN to are no longer guilty of murder. Yes, it's true....they are looking inside people's minds and setting judicial precedent. At the moment, this has the potential of setting at least 33 convicted murderers free, including some who beat people to death during riots and some who kicked children to death.
With Patty "Osama isn't so bad" Murray and "Baghdad Jim" McDermott from my State, I'm thoroughly embarrassed to live here.
"Putting Virginia high on the list of places to relocate to"
Thanks very much for the insights :-)
Just an FYI, something we were taught in the NRA concealed carry course: IIRC in Virginia prosecutors are obligated to bring the charge of murder in any homocide, no matter what the circumstances.
My understanding was that even in matters of clear self-defense, a person will be charged with murder and not manslaughter (or anything else), though the charges can be reduced or of course entirely dropped during trial.
I may have those details wrong, but in any case the Virginia homocide statues differ from those of most other states.
Perhaps a better-informed person will explain the statues here.
To be honest, I exaggerated somewhat.
If you get up near DC into a city like Fairfax, for example, the housing prices skyrocket. They are among the highest in the country.
Likewise, prices are much higher in Charlottesville, where UVA is located. That's a lovely city, you just can't drive there. Too many people and not enough roads. Nice to visit tho. Very. There is a downtowm mall that is wonderful.
I'm quoting the more rural areas. $130 would get you a very nice home in Lexington. Twice that would get you a mansion (by my standards). I wish I had some way to send you a photo of the house up the street for me that recently sold for about $225. It's spectacular.
The problem is that there is no work.
It depends on what you do. It's a nice area to retire to, but it isn't easy to find jobs in the rural areas. This is pretty much farm country.
That's my current problem. I would like to get a job again. And not one working at the local Wal-Mart.
Rural Virginians are extraorinarly conservative. They don't spend money on anything. One can live here on almost nothing. The other side of that coin is that there is no way to make money.
So, it isn't all good news.
But it is very pretty. If you like the outdoors and/or if have any interest in the Civil War, you'd like it here.
Come out here sometime. Lexington would be my town of choice. Close behind that would be Staunton (pronouced STAN-ton, and don't do say it any other way. Waynesboro, where I live, is "Waynesburrah". Getting these things right is local knowledge. But it counts when you are talking to people.)
Fredericksbug would cost more, but is very nice.
Southwest sometimes runs fares of $99 per leg from Seattle into Baltimore or Norfork (NOR-fuck). It's hard to go wrong that way.
If you do come here, don't ever think you can navigate off something like the "Lee / Jackson Highway." All the roads here are named that.
Any road with a number of 600 or higher is not to be trusted. You can get very lost and very messed up in a hurry. None of the maps are any good. I have literally needed to navigate off the sun. If it had been cloudy or at night, I would have been toast.
The lower road numbers are also suspect. Don't trust them either.
Not to be redundant or anything, but this is an area of local knowledge. They seem to try to screw up non-locals.
Perhaps a better-informed person will explain the statues here.
I'd be interested in that also.
Unlike most on FR, I am not a proponent of capital punishment. I think it is disgusting,
A worthy cause deserves a good BUMP!
Welcome to the East! That's especially true south of the Mason-Dixon. When you get further south in the rural areas, you'll never be accepted until you find you are related to someone who's from there. Kinship is very important south of the M-D...
That would be true.
There's a joke about a guy who got burned out working as a lawyer or a stockbroker in New York, got a divorce, and moved to a remote cabin in West Virginia.
After about six months, he started to get lonely.
One afternoon he got a knock on the door. This was a new event. There had never been a knock before.
He opened it to find a very large, very hairy, very smelly man on his porch, dressed in a frayed flannel shirt. Still, he had a visitor.
"Hello."
The man said, "Live over there." He pointed to the hills. "Having a party this Saturday. Wanted to invite you."
Well, that was nice. "I'd be glad to come. What time?"
"4:00. Give or take."
"Okay. Thank you."
The man turned to leave. After a few steps, he turned around and said, "Better warn you, there might be some drinkin' goin' on."
That sounded okay too. Our hero hadn't had a drink in quite a while.
The man spat some tobacco juice on the ground, glared at him, and said, "Thar might be some fightin' too."
Our hero figures that he can avoid getting involved in that. He's not a fighter.
The man turns to leave again, then he turns around again, spits, and wipes his mouth on his sleeve. "Thar might be some SEX."
Well, that sounded good also. It had been awhile. "Okay."
The man turned to leave again.
Our hero called out, "What should I wear?"
The man turned around once more. "It don't matter. It'll just be you and me."
Now then, Kay, I think you and your husband need to discuss the idea of having open marriage. ;)
Good joke!
Open Marriage - isn't that an oxymoron?
Gay-rights advocates march on delegate's home
By Guy Taylor
THE WASHINGTON TIMESMANASSAS — Homosexual-rights activists yesterday marched through this historic downtown and past the home of a Virginia legislator to protest a law that bans civil unions.
The law, sponsored by Delegate Robert G. Marshall and set to take effective July 1, amends Virginia's Affirmation of Marriage Act to prohibit the recognition of same-sex "marriages" performed in other states.
Carrying signs with slogans such as "Stop The Hate" and "We Are Your Neighbors," about 50 activists were on hand for the event organized by Prince William County's chapter of Equality Virginia, a homosexual-rights group. Mr. Marshall is a Prince William Republican. continue
Thank you very much for taking the time to provide an update! That was very nice of you.
It's a shame that Delegate Marshall had to cancel his son's party, and it's also a shame that apparently only one counter-demonstrator showed up.
I guess it could be viewed, however, as a positive that only about fifty marchers showed up. Here in Left-wing Seattle, any homosexual-oriented event can count on thousands of participants, lots of noise and traffic disruption and tons of garbage to clean up afterwards, so I suppose it could have been a whole lot worse for Delegate Marshall.
Still, it's unfortunate that the marchers quoted were only referring to "their" supposed plight, when it is they who are trying to force their agenda upon the rest of society and in so doing upset thousands of years of human culture.
Hopefully Delegate Marshall and other Virginians will not be dissuaded from their honorable and worthy fight to protect marriage and families as a result of protests such as this and the inevitable ones to come.
Thanks again for taking the time to provide an update, it's sincerely appreciated :-)
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