Reform for Virginia's Antiquated Tax Code
Delegate Al Eisenberg gave the following speech on the floor of the House of Delegates during the debate over HB751, the Defense of Marriage Bill.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak to the bill.
I know the likely fate of this legislation, but as someone who has fought discrimination all my life, I have seen and felt personally how people cannot leave others alone. So, I can't idly sit by and allow this bill to pass without expressing my feelings about this unfortunate piece of legislation. I feel a moral obligation to say something about this bill.
I have been married for 28 years to the same woman. Ours is a home where two people have committed themselves to each other in love and respect. We have raised two wonderful sons. Down the street from us are two gay people living together. I have to say I feel no threat to my marriage if this couple sets up a home together, or if other couples, people of the same sex wish to consecrate their feelings, their relationships by forming a union or a partnership. How is marriage threatened or harmed if such unions or partnership contracts are established. What terrible result will occur from that-the right to inheritance? The ability to make medical decisions for some who is ill? Financial stewardship? Shared commitments that make a household a stable home? What is it that makes people so afraid of these unions?
Yes, some people's sensibilities might be challenged. And people have a right to their sensibilities. But it seems to me that the most important right of all is be let alone as long as you are not hurting anyone else. For generations, this state enforced miscegenation laws. Blacks and whites were not allowed to marry. Those laws were overturned. The world did not come to an end. Life went on and we are better for it. If people wish to commit themselves to one another in a formal, legalized, recognized way, regardless of their sexual orientation, I say, "Let them be."