Gay groups are sounding the alarm as Virginia attorney general Bob McDonnell gears up for a gubernatorial run in 2009. The Republican is the only member of his party to file paperwork by last month's deadline to campaign for the office now held by Democrat Tim Kaine, and he has a lengthy antigay record, the Washington Blade reports.
Gay groups are
sounding the alarm as Virginia attorney general Bob
McDonnell gears up for a gubernatorial run in 2009. The
Republican is the only member of his party to file
paperwork by last month's deadline to campaign
for the office now held by Democrat Tim Kaine, and he
has a lengthy antigay record, the Washington Blade
reports.
McDonnell, a
former state delegate from Virginia Beach, voted for several
antigay measures while in the legislature, including an
amendment to the Virginia constitution banning
same-sex marriage and civil unions (the bill passed).
He also voted for a law preventing the state from
recognizing out-of-state civil unions and for a bill that
would have outlawed adoption by gays. McDonnell twice
voted against a bill that sought to enable the
partners of gay employees to receive health insurance.
McDonnell
is “one of the most outspoken, homophobic
elected officials in the state,” Tom Osborne of
the gay Democratic group Virginia Partisans told the
Blade, adding that the attorney general has
been an “enemy at every opportunity."
Governor Kaine's
term ends in January 2010. Several Democrats are also in
the race to succeed him, including former Democratic
National Committee chairman and longtime Clinton
ally Terry McAuliffe. (Advocate.com)
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