Two recent votes in the House of Delegates have accelerated Virginia's entry into the national debate over same-sex marriage, civil unions and their corresponding rights and benefits.
Yesterday, the House voted 50-49 to allow businesses the ability to extend health insurance coverage to all members of the primary insurance holder's household, instead of restricting that extension to spouses and dependents. The House also voted 79-18 Friday to bar Virginia from recognizing same-sex marriages or civil unions legalized in other states. Each bill now must be passed by the Senate and gain the approval of Gov. Mark R. Warner to become law.
The insurance bill, sponsored by Del. James H. Dillard, R-Fairfax, was originally designed to lift government restrictions regarding to whom businesses can extend coverage, but became controversial after lawmakers realized that the extension could include gay partners living together.
"For us, a successful byproduct is that companies could give gay spouses or partners insurance," Queer Student Union Co-President Anna McCrerey said.
Rodney Clemmons, legislative assistant to Dillard, said the bill was designed to bring Virginia into the mainstream with the rest of the country. Virginia is the last state in the country that prevents companies from extending health benefits to anyone other than a policy holder's spouse and children.
"That's the bottom line of the bill -- it lets the free market operate, it doesn't make anybody do anything," Clemmons said.
A similar bill introduced by Dillard had been defeated last year, Clemmons said. Following that defeat, Dillard revised the bill with the assistance of Virginia's Bureau of Insurance and other lawmakers in order to make it beneficial to businesses.
"The language was much more inclusive than it was last year," Clemmons said.
Advocates of the marriage bill, sponsored by Del. Robert G. Marshall, R-Prince William, said the bill was needed in response to Vermont's civil union law, which allows a same-sex couple to gain marriage benefits, and a Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling that the state cannot prevent same-sex couples from marrying because it violates the state constitution.
Opponents of the marriage bill, including Del. Adam P. Ebbin, D-Alexandria, decried the bill as unnecessary because Virginia already bans gay marriages and does not recognize civil unions.
"I voted no for two reasons -- one is because I'm against restricting people's relationships," Ebbin said. "Secondly, I voted no because Virginia already has an anti-gay marriage bill."
Despite the recent surge in national debate surrounding gay marriage, many lawmakers said the status of gay marriage and civil union issues in Virginia will probably not change in the near future.
"The reality is Virginia isn't going to be the 10th or 20th or even the 30th state to have gay marriage," Ebbin said. "Virginia is not going to change for a number of years."
Still, McCrerey said the QSU remained hopeful that the increased attention would translate into change.
"Whenever there's lively debate, it means the topic is hot and there's going to be change," McCrerey said.
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