Gay Marriage Amendment Compared to Nazism
365Gay.com,
February 7, 2005
By 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Richmond, Virginia—Virginia’s
Senate Monday voted 30-10 in favor of a proposed amendment to the state
constitution to ban same-sex marriage.
During an intense debate on the issue opponents of the
measure likened it to the Nazis’ treatment of Jews.
“There is nothing ennobling about Senate Joint
Resolution 337. It is xenophobia that led to the rise of Nazism in Germany and
fascism in Italy. It is homophobia that brings us to this place in time
today,” said Mamie E. Locke (D-Hampton).
Sen. Janet Howell (D-Fairfax County) went further, saying
Virginia has begun stigmatizing people because of their sexuality just as the
Nazis did. Jews, she said, were required in concentration camps to wear yellow
patches; political prisoners wore red ones; and homosexuals got pink.
“First, there were small infringements on rights,
infringements perpetrated by elected representatives (who said) that’s what
the people want. Some religious leaders participated, misusing Biblical text
to justify their deeds,” Howell said.
“In Virginia today, we do not require pink triangles.
We stigmatize and marginalize people in other ways as we go down a path that
we don’t know where it will end,” she said.
The amendment’s Senate sponsor, Sen. Stephen D. Newman
(R-Lynchburg) said protecting traditional is nothing like Nazism. Newman said
that without the measure, Virginia could be forced to honor gay marriages
established in states where gay marriages are legal such as Massachusetts.
But, Sen. Kenneth Cuccinelli (R-Fairfax County) said
there was nothing wrong with discriminating against gays.
Cuccinelli, noting that homosexuality was illegal for
most of Virginia’s history until the U.S. Supreme Court forced the state to
get rid of the law denounced what he called “the tyranny of judges”.
A similar amendment proposal is before the House where it
is also expected to win overwhelmingly.
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