
Virginia’s lieutenant governor, who is the GOP candidate for governor this year, included a handwritten note denouncing same-sex couples marrying when moving a bill about marriage forward last year.
The Virginia Scope obtained the copy of H.B. 174 that Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R) signed last March. H.B. 174 codified marriage equality in the state last year, removing the state’s ban on same-sex marriage from the books in case the Supreme Court overturns its Obergefell decision, which legalized marriage equality in all 50 states in 2015.
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The Virginia Senate passed the bill, and Earle-Sears, who presides over the state senate, was required by the state constitution to sign it. She did, but not without leaving a handwritten note on it.
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“As the Lt. Governor, I recognize and respect my constitutional obligation to adhere to the procedures laid out in the Constitution of Virginia,” she wrote. “However, I remain morally opposed to the content of HB 174 as passed by the General Assembly.”
“Winsome is not a conservative,” Casey Flores, who founded the Log Cabin Republicans of Richmond, told the Virginia Scope. “She’s kind of a theocratic totalitarian. She actually does care what people do in their bedrooms. And, you know, I think the Republican Party is largely past that.”
Her office said in a statement that she has “already shown” that she will be a governor “for all Virginians.”
“She has always been open and honest with the people of Virginia about her values and her unwavering commitment to both respecting and upholding the law,” the statement said.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) signed the bill last year, issuing a statement saying that it contained religious exemptions that meant that “Religious organizations and members of the clergy acting in their religious capacity now have the authority to decline to officiate marriage ceremonies that violate their conscience.” It’s not clear how this differs from the First Amendment protections religions have had since well before marriage equality was legalized.
Earle-Sears is running to replace Gov. Youngkin later this year, and radio host and out gay man John Reid just got the state GOP’s nomination to run to replace Earle-Sears as lieutenant governor. A Tumblr account with adult pictures that allegedly belonged to Reid was discovered last month, and Youngkin has asked Reid to drop out of the race. Reid has denied having any connection to the Tumblr account.
Last February, Earle-Sears misgendered out trans state Sen. Danica Roem (D) while presiding over a session of the state senate. Earle-Sears later apologized.
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