House passes bill to protect religious objections to gay marriage

Senate Bill 41, which also would prevent marriage officiants from being required to participate in a wedding ceremony, passed the Senate last month on a 20-19 vote. The legislation appears to be headed to Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s desk, though the chambers still have to reach agreement on the bill’s final form.

Following the nationwide legalization of gay marriage, the Republican-controlled legislature introduced several bills this session that supporters said would prevent traditional religious beliefs from being drummed out of the public sphere. Critics have called the bills unconstitutional, arguing they codify discrimination against gay Virginians.

McAuliffe, a vocal supporter of gay rights and the LGBT community, has said he will oppose any legislation that makes Virginia less open and welcoming.

On the House floor Wednesday, Del. Vivian E. Watts, D-Fairfax, asked if the bill would allow a religious school to require students to hold the belief that marriage is between one man and one woman as a condition of enrollment, and face no loss of scholarship or grant funding as a result.

“Of course that is correct,” said Del. C. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah. “That is the whole point.”

Gilbert had sponsored a broader religious freedom bill that passed the House but saw dramatic changes in the Senate. House Speaker William J. Howell, R-Stafford, ruled Wednesday that the Senate’s amendments were not germane to Gilbert’s bill, effectively killing it for the year.

Gilbert’s bill would have granted broader protection to private entities

“We are saying that we are going to prefer this specific set of beliefs above all others,” Del. Marcus B. Simon, D-Fairfax, said.

Del. Robert G. Marshall, R-Prince William, said the bill would preserve endangered beliefs about marriage as it was understood “for millennia.” The opposition, he said, stems from a desire to “excise” those beliefs.

Five Republicans voted with Democrats in opposition to the bill.