A word for my good friend Lowell. We are going to have a referendum on the hate amendment because Gov. Tim Kaine singed that sucker into law. He could have vetoed it, or he could have just done nothing and let it die, like Mark did when this was proposed as a law (only to be overridden).
What on earth? A few points are in order here.
1) The amendment in question passed 73 to 22 in the House of Delegates and 28-11 in the Senate. Last time I checked, that's veto proof.
2) According to the gay newspaper, : "The governor+óGé¼Gäós role in the constitutional amendment process is unclear, as historically his signature on the measure sending it to the ballot is largely procedural. A staff attorney with Legislative Services at the Virginia General Assembly said it is not clear if a governor+óGé¼Gäós ability to amend and veto all bills extends to the authorizing legislation that places constitutional amendments on the ballot. The issue could be litigated if the governor were to veto or amend the bill, she said."
So what on earth is Miller's #1 supporter saying about Tim Kaine? What does she think Kaine could have done exactly?
3) Oh, and what on earth is Harris Miller's position on this issue anyway? Jim Webb has come out categorically against it, and also FOR civil unions. Meanwhile, according to VaBchDem:
Standing RIGHT in front of me at the February meeting of the Loudoun County Democratic Committee, Harris Miller was asked point-blank about his position on the 'marriage amendment' and whether he supports it or not. His response: 'If Mark Warner and Tim Kaine support it, I support it.'
4) We also have an account by a woman who attended the "Good Ol' Girls" Democratic meeting in January about Miller's snide dismissal of this issue.
So, let's see if I got this now. Miller's strategy is to let his surrogates attack Jim Webb and even Tim Kaine, while avoiding taking his own clear stand on the marriage amendment? Meanwhile, Webb has come out strongly against it. And Alice Marshall, who views John Warner as a war criminal, is leading the charge for Miller?
Please remind me, why does ANYONE support Harris Miller?
My response to Alice's post:
As President of the Virginia Partisans Gay & Lesbian Democrats, I can assure you that NO ONE opposes the Marshall-Newman, the so-called Marriage Amendment, more than I do.
That said, you're just wrong about Governor Kaine on this point. The Governor of Virginia does NOT have the constitutional power to veto a constitutional amendment. The Republican House and Senate shoved through this dangerously broad, hateful, and unnecessary amendment with most Democrats voting no. He never signed the amendment proposal---like all constitutional amendments, it never CAME to his desk for him to sign or not sign.
What the Governor did sign was the legislation that specified HOW the ballot referendum on this amendment will be carried out. While the Republican majority initially tried to pass ballot language that did not accurately reflect what the amendment would do, Democratic Senator Mary Margaret Whipple successfully got both the House and Senate to change the bill to include the ENTIRE text of the proposed amendment on the ballot. We supported her version and it passed the House 100-0 and the Senate 40-0. We believe that when people see the entire text of what this amendment does, they will vote no.
Rather than blaming someone who is on our side on this issue and is NOT responsible for this dangerous proposal, let's focus our efforts on DEFEATING this in November.
Former Senator Chuck Robb announced last night that he will be voting no this November.
Governor Kaine has announced that he will be voting no this November.
Both Harris Miller and Jim Webb have announced that they will be voting no this November.
We are proud to have all of them on the side of what is right.
I will be voting no and encourage everyone to do the same. For more information, visit http://www.votenova.org or http://www.vapartisans.org
Posted by: Josh Israel | April 09, 2006 at 02:20 PMHere's how your man Miller responded to being asked about the amendment at the Loudon County Democratic Committee meeting. (The account I've included in the following email has been verified by many people who were in attendance.):
Comments
The ONLY role the Governor in this matter is the same one you and I have---speaking out and voting for or against it in November. Governor Kaine has announced publicly that he will vote no--and we are proud of him for doing so.