Posted on 07/06/2015 6:38:16 PM PDT by markomalley
Democratic lawmakers and gay rights advocates on Monday fired back at Republican leaders in the House of Delegates for wanting to make religious freedom legislation — which they see as discriminatory against same-sex couples — a top priority in the 2016 General Assembly session.
“While Virginia Democrats are focused on creating jobs, Republicans have admitted that their top legislative priority is discriminating against people,”said Democratic Party of Virginia chairwoman Susan Swecker.
“Focusing on Indiana-style discrimination laws instead of growing our economy is irresponsible, dangerous and hopelessly out of touch.”
While Republicans say they will abide by the recent historic U.S. Supreme Court ruling that made same-sex marriage the law of the land, Del. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah County, said in an interview last week that protections of religious liberties will be “the primary focus” for the House GOP next year.
Gilbert called for a strong response to the gay marriage decision because he views it as part of a concerted effort by the left “to tear down religious institutions and the belief systems that support them.”
House Minority Leader David Toscano, D-Charlottesville, said Monday that “some Republicans want to try to use fear of that as a wedge issue” to drive their voters to the polls in November, when all 140 seats of the General Assembly are up for election.
“There are some people that are scared that the sky is going to fall and all our liberties are going to be taken away, and I will speak loudly and clearly against any notion that we are going to compromise religious liberty or freedom. But I also will speak very strongly against using religion as a rationale for discrimination,” Toscano said.
To Democrats, gay rights and anti-discriminatory policies are about jobs and the economy, Toscano added.
“We hear from a lot of companies who are trying to recruit people that a lot of folks don’t feel that Virginia is all that hospitable,” Toscano said.
“And when you have provisions that allow people to discriminate based on their sexual orientation, it’s not at all helping with recruitment. To us, it’s an economic issue and not related to lifestyle as Republicans aim to make it.”
Shortly after the high court handed down its decision, House of Delegates Speaker William Howell, R-Stafford, and Senate Majority Leader Thomas Norment, R-James City, sent a letter to the Virginia Code Commission asking to evaluate future changes that will be necessary to bring the Code of Virginia into compliance with the court’s ruling.
But Howell also stated that the House will fight to uphold the “God-given and Constitutionally guaranteed right to the free exercise of religion” in light of the ruling.
He tasked Gilbert with taking the lead in reviewing current law and what other states are doing to protect religious liberties.
Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, said that almost anything that state legislators stress just four months before their names are on the ballot is related to the election.
“This was an organized Republican effort to capitalize on the Supreme Court’s gay marriage decision,” Sabato said. “The November election for the General Assembly will have the lowest turnout of the four-year election cycle. That means both parties have to focus on themes that will generate decent turnout among the party base.”
In Virginia, religious and social-issue conservatives make up a large part of the GOP supporters.
“That’s why the legislators made their appeal as much about religious freedom as gay marriage. When people think the stakes are high, and their beliefs are seriously threatened, they tend to vote,” Sabato said.
Claire Guthrie Gastañaga, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, called the GOP plan a “thinly veiled attempt to activate the most emotionally engaged parts of their base” for the upcoming elections.
Democrats could use Gilbert’s harsh language to increase turnout among their own supporters, as polls show every age group below 50 now supports gay marriage, and those under 30 back the idea by a massive majority. While the House is firmly in Republican hands, the Senate majority remains up for grabs.
But Sen. Donald McEachinD-Richmond, the chairman of the Senate Democratic caucus, said he doesn’t see any need for his party to make Republican opposition to same-sex marriage an election issue.
“I think the people of Virginia had enough of narrow thinking and the notion of being exclusive rather than inclusive. We’re leaving it up to the people to decide that debate,” he said.
Yep. Religious freedom is hated by the homosexual lobby.
Democrats, create jobs? What?
Democrats are making it clear that they are going to be actively behind the persecution of Christians.
“Discriminating againat people”? What about forcing others to support your beliefs against their own will, hypocrites? So tell me intellectual geniuses, what’s worse? Discriminating against someone or FORCING people to do something against their own will and beliefs. No the freedom of religion legislation is to keep YOU and your own kind in check.
“Discriminating against people”? What about forcing others to support your beliefs against their own will, hypocrites? So tell me intellectual geniuses, what’s worse? Discriminating against someone or FORCING people to do something against their own will and beliefs. No the freedom of religion legislation is to keep YOU and your own kind in check.
...... Whoah!! ...... Perish the thought that this country would actually move towards religious freedom!!!
..... BTW .... has any of these twerps ever heard of something called the Constitution of the United States of America ...... upon which all laws must be founded? Perhaps we might have to go to the Supreme Court to see if they can find something called "Religious Freedom." Considering the current batch of Judges .... I bet they would be tied in knots trying to find it.
The Democrats are starting to get scared. They made their position to be in full support of this abomination and its linkage to the destruction of Judeo-Christian morality.
So be it. If the people resist at the ballot box they’re going to regret their position as they find themselves out of power.
Which is literally protected by the U.S Constitution? Religious liberty. The Constitution says noting about marriage - let alone the right to rump ride at the expense of everyone elses liberty.
ANY Christian who gets attacked by the liberal sub-humans should sue for the violation of THEIR civil rights as well as their Constitutional rights.
Because both republicans and democrats passed the Civil Rights Act, the supreme court has to support it, because that was the same excuse they used to protect obomacare!"It was legitimately passed by congress."
Hey, if you dont like it, then dont practice religion.
You will not take away our religious freedoms. NEVER! Ther will be hell to pay if you keep trying!
Change that to ‘Christian religious freedom’ and I’d agree.
Bump.
Absolutely. 70% of Americans are Christians, but that includes people who belong to and agree with post-Christian churches which support this crap.
I’ve always had a problem with things like a large majority of Americans being Christians. I think many of this number are just nominal Christians who say that because they somehow think it’s a characteristic you’re born with.
If a majority, or even a substantial plurality, were actually Christians in America:
1. Movies in theaters would be totally different.
2. TV would be totally different.
3. Pornography wouldn’t be one of the biggest industries in America.
4. Las Vegas would be empty.
5. Abortions, out of wedlock births, and venereal diseases would be far lower than they are.
Etc.
Post-Christian Churches.
If government were to revoke its power to define and regulate marriage, it would allow it to return to the private sphere and nobody could be forced to #BakeTheCake. The #PinkSwastika could not file a complaint against any human rights commission and nobody would have to worry that their rights were being trampled upon.
The sad episode of same sex marriage shows that it was a mistake to allow government to have this power in the first place. Now because government has become hostile to marriage as God defines it, for the sake of those who understand and respect both God and His institution of marriage, we must revoke government’s power over marriage.
To those who reply that government has an interest in marriage and protecting children, that era is long over. It was over in the 1960’s when hippies could form communes where men and women were free to copulate with anyone and no state intruded to put the feral children in foster care.
It was also over in the 1960’s when the birth rate among unmarried black women started to climb. Today, more than 70% of black babies do not have a father who is married to their mothers. The state doesn’t seem to care, but nobody worries that any one of these black babies will lack for rights of inheritance or any other concern used to protest that the state must regulate marriage.
People who dance with the devil get burnt.
ANY attachment to the government creates a self imposed prison. Take one Penny from them (their government heroin), or give away as little as one speck of your liberty to them, and they own you.
Good
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