Laws of the Land?
Gay marriage to be decided on Nov. ballot
By Rachana Dixit, news editor
Posted on September 7, 2006

The upcoming November election is starting to create a stir.
 
This year, the Virginia ballot on Nov. 7 will host a referendum proposing the addition of Virginia’s gay-marriage ban to the state constitution. A January Associated Press article noted that the constitutional amendment was put on the ballot in January after winning General Assembly approval and after the House of Delegates passed the bill with a 76-20 vote.

According to the Virginia State Board of Elections, the proposed amendment adds a definition of marriage as the “union between one man and one woman” to the Constitution’s Bill of Rights and prohibits Virginia and its counties, cities and towns from creating or recognizing any legal status by any name, which is comparable to marriage.

Local clergy members agree.

Tom Mattingly, a pastor at the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Harrisonburg, said the issue of gay marriage was raised a few months ago.

“I don’t think all people really consider this an issue about faith,” he said. “I think that more and more people see it as a secular issue. That has been a surprise to me.”

Although the issue of gay marriage has been addressed, Mattingly said most Catholics know where the church stands on the issue and the important status marriage has.

“We believe that marriage is a very special relationship with special purposes and obligations,” Mattingly said. “We take our cue from our physiology.”

He added that he believes a union between two members of the same sex should not be called a marriage because marriage in the Catholic Church is geared toward the procreation of a family.

“We would see [homosexuals] as being unmarried,” he said, adding that acting on that orientation would be improper as unmarried Catholics are required to remain celibate.

“There is sympathy within our congregation certainly toward people who have a homosexual orientation,” Mattingly said. But, he said the Catholic Church as a whole sees the homosexual orientation as a frustrating situation.

Senior Kristen Brady, co-president of Harmony, disagreed.

“You can’t limit a person’s rights whether or not you agree with what they’re doing religiously,” she said. “It’s the Constitution’s job to provide rights, not limit them.”

Brady said Harmony has strived to make the JMU campus a better place for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, however, the Harrisonburg community is still fairly conservative.

“The college atmosphere is more liberal, but Harrisonburg is also very conservative,” she said.  Specifically regarding the amendment, Brady thought the state needed to decide whether marriage is looked at from a religious perspective or not.

“The state needs to decide where they stand,” she said. Before the election, Brady said Harmony will be advertising to oppose the amendment.

Mattingly also said the Catholic Church will be using this time to educate people on the amendment and the issue of gay marriage.

“The church holds up marriage to a higher standard,” he said. “I think the church is going to see this as an opportunity to re-affirm what we teach.”