LGBT News Here Are The Battles About To Be Waged In Virginia

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So just a recap. Here are the major 2014 battles for LGBT Rights in Virginia:

1. Two lawsuits in the courts are moving forward that challenge the Commonwealth's constitutional ban on same sex marriage.

2. Efforts in the General Assembly are being made to overturn the constitutional ban as well as the ban in the Virginia legal code. (Same sex marriage is double banned in Virginia.) It isn't expected to pass, but it will put everyone on the record so we know where they stand. It also won't be necessary if the courts rule in our favor.

3. A bill that will allow a second parent to adopt a child. So, for example, if a same sex couple gave birth through a surrogate right now in Virginia only one individual would be considered as the parent. Changes to the law will allow both individuals to become legal parents. This is super important for LGBT families in Virginia, and it also is super important for many straight families as well. It seems to have bipartisan support at the moment, so there is a possibility that this could actually pass.

4. A bill that will ban LGBT work place discrimination. This is rather popular with the public, and at the moment has bipartisan support. There is a possibility that it could pass. Our new Democratic Governor has already signed an executive order making this the case for state employees.

5. A bill that will ban conversion therapy on LGBT youth. Out of all of the proposals, I actually think this is the one that will cause Republican's to fight back the most. (They will argue "freedom for families to choose" and "freedom of religion".) Win or lose, it will get them all on the record.

Virginia is a complicated state. There are some areas of the state that will be behind all of the above by a wide margin. Then there are other areas of the state that will be completely and totally opposed. The Virginia House of Representatives are completely under the thumb of Republicans, and so the likelihood of getting any pro-LGBT legislation through the General Assembly is small.

However, at the same time Republican's have lost Virginia in two consecutive Presidential Elections, and have lost all state wide offices to Democrats. The last time Democrats controlled -ALL- of the state wide elected offices was 1969, and the last time Democrats won Virginia in a Presidential race was 1964.

The writing is on the wall for Republicans who want to seek state wide office. Virginia is changing. No longer are Democrats afraid of LGBT issues in Virginia, and in fact Terry McAuliffe (our new Democratic Governor) openly ran on a pro-LGBT platform that included marriage equality. He was pitted against an ultra religious authoritarian who never saw an anti-LGBT piece of legislation that he didn't like. It's widely believed that one of the reasons he lost was his stance on social issues, something that he spent time trying to walk away from during the campaign. Terry, on the other hand, wanted to engage him directly on the culture war issues from the progressive side.

This is a huge shift in Virginia state politics. It's never happened before, and therefore it makes the future unpredictable. However, I am fairly confident that the new Governor supports all of the above proposed legislation. How many Republicans who notice the shift in Virginia politics, especially those seeking state wide office, will break lines and cross the isle? Some of the above legislative proposals already have Republican co-sponsors, so at least some of them are considering it.

It's rather clear that marriage is off the table, but what about a Virginia version of ENDA? Second parent adoption (which helps many straight couples as well)? It's an uphill battle, and it's something I wouldn't get my hopes up on, but I wouldn't rule them out completely as possibilities. Just a few years ago even imagining that we'd see these proposals being made was unthinkable.

It's going to be an interesting year in Virginia for LGBT rights. Jerry Falwell is already rolling over in his grave.