Marriage amendment passes

Ballot Question No. 1 passed Tuesday night by a considerable margin, writing into the Virginia Constitution that marriage is between one man and one woman. About 1.3 million agreed to the amendment, while just under one million opposed it, according to the State Board of Elections Web site.

“We’re pleased to be able to say that because of your hard work today, our folks came to the polls, and in Virginia marriage is going to be between one man and one woman,” Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling told a crowd of Allen supporters gathered at the Richmond Marriot. Congressman Eric Cantor of the 7th District touched on the ballot measure during his victory speech.

But not everyone there supported Sen. George Allen and the measure alike.

Steve Skeens of Powhatan said while he supports Allen on taxes, small government and immigration, he disagreed with the marriage amendment.

“I just don’t think you should enshrine discrimination in the Constitution,” he said.

Across the street at the Greater Richmond Convention Center, the Family Foundation, a key proponent of the amendment, threw a celebration party through the auspices of their VA4marriage.org Web site.

Delegate Adam Ebbin of Arlington, the first openly gay person in the Virginia Legislature, was upset about the results. He consoled allies at the Democratic Party’s celebration in Vienna.

“We had a more complicated message to deliver. The campaign had gotten more and more traction, but we ran out of time. Tonight’s vote is not really a defeat, it’s a setback,” Ebbin said.

Dyana Mason, director of Equality Virginia, the main opponent of the proposal, said she was saddened but happy about the margin. She felt that the Senate race drove people to the polls, not the amendment.

“I think people were mostly concerned about the Senate race. People were very energized by that campaign. I don’t think it had a significant impact one way or the other,” she said.

As a non-partisan organization, Equality Virginia had no comment on the Democratic acquisition of both houses of Congress. She said they are ready to begin lobbying during the 2007 Virginia Legislature session beginning in January.

Supporters of both sides of the debate opened their wallets. The Commonwealth Coalition, headed by former Attorney General Claire Guthrie Gastanaga, took in over $1 million, according to the Oct. 30 filings available from the Virginia Public Access Project. VA4Marriage.org took in $250,000.

Arizona became the first state to defeat a marriage amendment. While it passed in seven other states, margins dropped from previous years.

“It is always wrong to put basic rights up for a popular vote, and it is nearly impossible for any minority to protect itself when that happens. But today in Arizona the impossible happened,” said Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, in a statement Wednesday.

But Virginia wasn’t the landslide some predicted.

“We did exceed people’s expectations on this. Our opponents said they would get 70 percent a few months ago,” Mason said.

The 57 to 43 win was equal to Oregon, which had the highest rate of opposition among measures on ballots in 2004. More South Dakotans voted ‘no’ than predicted, according to Forman’s group.

Ben Marchi of Albemarle County cheered at news the amendment had passed.

“Virginia’s home of America’s founders, and so it’s important to keep with the values that made this country great, and the family’s a big part of that,” he said.

Elizabeth Denson, who backed the amendment, said it marked a transformation of ideology.

“It is almost like the Internet, and how the Internet is so ahead of its time that the laws cannot keep up with it,” she said. “That’s how gay marriage is to me.”

Leslie Byrne, a former Democratic congresswoman in the 11th District, opposed the amendment.

“It’s a full employment act for lawyers,” she said, adding that she expects lawsuits to follow. Opponents have said the overly-broad language invites legal challenges.

Ebbin said the tide is changing.

“Every day Virginians are getting more and more fair-minded. This result will not stand,” he said.