"A proposed amendment to the Virginia Constitution that would ban same-sex marriages in the Commonwealth sailed through the Senate last week on a vote of 28-11. Charlottesville’s Senator, Creigh Deeds, a Democrat, voted for the amendment that critics say is unnecessary and dangerously vague.

Conservatives designed the amendment to Virginia’s 230-year-old Bill of Rights to prohibit gay marriage in the state, and prohibit the government from recognizing gay marriages or civil unions performed in other states. The bill is an insult to the spirit of freedom and equality enshrined in Virginia’s historic Bill of Rights, say critics. Virginia already has a law banning gay marriage, and critics say that the proposed amendment’s vague wording could be used to void business contracts and other legal arrangements between people of the same sex.

Supporters say the amendment is necessary because legal gay marriages could “destroy” heterosexual marriage.

The Senate vote means the referendum will go before Virginia voters on November 7." (John Borgmeyer, C-Ville Weekly, January 28, 2006)