Same-sex couples hold defiant commitment ceremony in Virginia

In an act of both optimism and defiance, 60 gay and straight couples took public commitment vows Sunday at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Arlington, Va., The Washington Post reported Monday.

Singing protest songs and walking in procession, the couples gathered before a banner that read “Marriage is a civil right.” Unitarian reverend Richard Nugent presided over the crowd, loudly voicing his support for universal marriage rights. “Whether you are married in the eyes of the law or only in the eyes of your family, this ceremony is for you,” he said, according to the newspaper.

The ceremony coincides with the same-sex marriage debate exploding in both Virginia and neighboring Maryland. Virginia legislators are currently considering a constitutional amendment defining marriage as strictly the union of a man and a woman. While there is currently a ban on any recognition of same-sex unions in Virginia, Republican legislators are pushing for a constitutional change so those laws can’t be altered by judicial decisions. Voters could be asked to decide on the matter in November, the Post reported.

“To put it bluntly,” Nugent told the crowd, “this amendment is mean-spirited, arises out of political expediency, and fuels ungrounded fear and bigotry.

On the other side of the spectrum, a Maryland circuit court judge last week decided that the ban on same-sex marriage was discriminatory. The case will now head to an appeals court, and if the first judge’s decision is upheld, same-sex marriage could be legalized in the state.

Rhonda Buckner, who committed to her partner, Diane Ullius, in the ceremony, said she is optimistic that her home state of Virginia will one day follow Maryland's lead. “There is no way the world can turn back now,” she told the newspaper. “They can make it miserable in the meantime, but they can’t change progress.” (Advocate.com)

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