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November 3, 2006

Ameding the Virginia Constitution

We're marching from the shipyards, We're marching from the hospitals, We'll take it to the town hall, We'll take it to the capitol

The are three Constitutional amendments on the ballot this year. Two of them are utterly inconsequential, but worth supporting. One of them is a disgusting piece of hatred that is proposed to be inserted, ironically, into the Bill of Rights. We'll start with the two...milquetoast...amendments. Can a ballot initiative really be milquetoast?

The second item on the ballot proposes striking language from the Virginia Constitution prohibiting the incorporation of places of worship. My initial feeling was "Why would a Church need to incorporate?" But then it was pointed out that federal courts have ruled that this statute is unconstitutional - so it's essentially semantics. I'm going to vote Yes.

The third item on the ballot is whether to allow localities the ability to create partial exemptions from property taxes for the purposes of redevelopment. Basically, can a county give a property tax cut? While there may be some valid concerns about over-stimulation of growth, ultimately I feel that anything that returns some local control to the individual localities is a good idea. I'm voting Yes.

Then there's Marshall Newmann. The "Marriage" Amendment. My sister's Father-in-law, a staunch Conservative and major Bush donor, referred to this amendment as "The Hate and Bias Amendment". He felt so strongly about it that he was on a panel at GMU along with various clergy and community leaders encouraging people to vote No.

Here's the thing. Do I support gay marriage? Absolutely - I think this is a Civil Rights issue, and discrimination in any way shape or form is disgusting, unnecessary, and unpatriotic. As a country founded of the principles of freedom, how can we even think that denying a group of people a basic right is the right thing to do?

That said, even if you oppose gay marriage, you should oppose this amendment. Why? Because this potentially can limit any contract within the state of Virginia between individuals. This could potentially be used to overturn domestic violence statutes for unmarried couples.

And then there's the economic factor. If it becomes illegal for a contract to provide benefits that would be automatically provided by marriage (such as sharing of property or, more importantly, healthcare benefits) then how is Virginia going to be able to compete economically with other states that allow these items? Everyday, more and more companies are recognizing that it is bad business to discriminate. And if they want to attract the best and the brightest, they must be able to provide benefits to any couple, regardless of orientation or status. We slit our own throats by passing this amendment.

There is a level of irony that this amendment is being proposed for Article I of the Virginia Constitution, also known as the Virginia Bill of Rights. It would be hilarious if it weren't so sad. I am voting NO, and so should you.

Posted by MikeSager at November 3, 2006 12:45 PM

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Posted by: jake at November 3, 2006 3:22 PM

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