Virginia's Constitution: From Thomas Jefferson to Jerry Falwell

By: JD
Published On: 11/15/2006 11:02:08 PM

Hey folks.  I want to write an editorial on the hate amendment and the Virginia Constitution and thought I'd let RK be a sounding board.  I have to admit, writing this felt like I was writing an eulogy.  No matter what I write, it can't possibly convey what I feel.  As a gay man, as a Virginian, as a hopeless idealist and aspiring constitutional lawyer with a very deep respect for both of my Constitutions.  So I really don't know how good it is and welcome some feedback...
In 1776, George Mason (with the help of Thomas Jefferson) drafted, and the House of Burgesses passed, Virginia's first Constitution.  Thomas Jefferson's portion was the precursor to the Declaration of Independence that he wrote later that year.  After listing our grievances with the colonial government, Jefferson concluded "By which several acts of misrule, the government of this country, as formerly exercised under the crown of Great Britian, is TOTALLY DISSOLVED."  George Mason wrote the portion known as the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the first such document in world history, and the model for our national Bill of Rights.  It is impossible to overstate the significance and influence of our first Declaration of Rights.  It was a triumph of individual liberty over tyranny, and was borne out of the courage and convictions of the Virginian founders of our great country, who believed that liberty was worth fighting and dying for.

By our first Constitution, our Commonwealth blazed the trail of individual liberty and freedom, religious tolerance, and democracy, establishing our state and our nation as one of a kind - the first country in history to be founded on hope, our highest principles, and the very best in human nature, rather than on cynicism, persecution, and the fortuities of power.  The Virginia Constitution stood for the ideals that everyone is entitled to respect, that everyone has certain inalienable rights, that government should be limited, that we should be tolerant of individual religious convictions, and that the mixture of government and religion cheapens both.

Our Constitution has evolved significantly since that glorious day in 1776, when we planted the seed of individual liberty, now a cornerstone of most governments worldwide.  Certainly the numerous changes of our Constitution have paled in comparison to the significance and power of the ideals originally expressed.  But never has there been an amendment symbolizing our Commonwealth's fall from grace like the one passed on November 7th.

We have changed from a Commonwealth that boldy asserted to the world that "all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, . . ., namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety," to a Commonwealth that sees fit to include an unnecessary, overbroad provision, which arguably bans all kinds of legal relationships, but will probably have no real effect except to express hate and disdain towards a minority group.  Whatever your religious convictions, whatever your feelings about gay marriage, you must admit that an amendment for which the only real purpose is to single out a group of people and tell them "we don't like you and you're not welcome here," is the antithesis of what Virginia once stood for.

I will always remember November 7, 2006 as a sad day in the history of our great Commonwealth, and the amendment passed on that day as a cruel irony in the epic story of individual liberty.  Because of my deep love and respect for Virginia, I pray that one day we will do better, that one day we will return to our principles, and that one day we can again show the world that "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" are more than mere words. 

Comments



Get your J.D. (CommonSense - 11/16/2006 9:11:26 PM)
and come home.
We need you here.