A couple of stories review the moral agenda that is rapidly being approved by at least the House of Delegates. Some of those who are supporting these measures would give any progressive pause.
Democratic Whip Brian Moran (Alexandria) and Kris Amundson (D-Fairfax) voted for the internationally ridiculed “droopy drawers” bill, while conservatives Dave Albo (R-Fairfax), Vince Callahan (R-Fairfax)and Brad Marrs (D-Richmond) had the good sense to vote against it.
Dels. Chap Petersen and Steve Shannon, both Fairfax Democrats, voted for both the constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, and the abortion anesthesia bill while Republican Jim Dillard of Fairfax voted against them.
The contradiction of “small government” Republicans pushing their morals on the rest of us is being noticed by more and more folks.
“Never have we had the kind of avalanche we’ve had this year. Never,” said Larry J. Sabato of the University of Virginia, who said he has received calls from journalists in Canada, Austria and Mexico. “It really has garnered an awful lot of attention for Virginia, and not the positive kind.”
The largely conservative General Assembly poses a political paradox.
“When it comes to, say, guns, Virginia completely respects guns. When it comes to other subjects, individual liberty is not on the table,” Sabato said. “There’s a philosophical contradiction here if anybody thinks about consistency or lack of it in this session.”
Of course, the issues are irresistible to politicians. And they get play because of the media.
“While it may take up 5 percent of our time, it’s very alluring to the people in the media, I believe, so therefore it probably gets more attention than it occupies here,” said state Sen. Stephen D. Newman, R-Lynchburg.
The right makes no bones about future agendas.
“The right-to-life people are making inroads,” declared Del. Robert G. Marshall, R-Prince William, who sponsored several abortion-related bills this year. “After they establish one beachhead, they march further on.”
Some think the likes of Marshall are just plain mean.
“The forces of reaction are arrayed against us,” said the Rev. Robin Gorsline, pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of Richmond, which serves the gay and lesbian community. “They’re scared. They’re really scared that we’re now being viewed as citizens of society. They’re scared, and it’s making them mean.”
Some of these bills are sure to be ruled unconstitutional, according to Aimee Perron Siebert, the ACLU’s legislative director.
Citing the school prayer measure as one example, she said the bill would change the state constitution to allow religious expression in public places – including prayer in schools – despite more than 50 years of Supreme Court rulings that establish the practice as a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s separation of church and state.
“The U.S. Constitution trumps Virginia’s constitution,” Siebert said.
Similarly, a conservative-backed bill that would prohibit gay and lesbian clubs in high schools also is firmly established by a Supreme Court ruling that allows Bible clubs to be held on school grounds, Siebert said. “If you allow one, you have to allow them all. It’s that simple. They know that. It’s not our imagination. We are in their cross hairs. Personal religious views are infiltrating every nook and cranny of the General Assembly.”
…A break on state taxes for corporations that give money to scholarship funds for private schools, which is aimed at getting more students from poor families into private schools. Cobb said it is a foot in the door for future efforts to expand the use of tax dollars to support private schools. Critics said it might violate a clause in the state constitution prohibiting public money being spent on private schools.
Other conservative efforts this session include a ban on state money being spent on stem cell research and an attempt to cut all state funds to Planned Parenthood, even if that money is not used for abortion counseling.
These bills, in one form or another, add up to an attempt by the right to use government to legislate morals. That’s the message that needs to be emphasized because it is a contradiction of the stated Republican desire for smaller government.