Same sex ban draws controversy

Register-Herald: An advocate of a constitutional change to define marriage in West Virginia as a union of “one man and one woman” warned Tuesday of a national push to legalize same-sex weddings. But an acknowledged homosexual lawyer and the American Civil Liberties Union told a legislative panel no such amendment is needed, and that it would only define West Virginians as bigots. Mindful they routinely lose by huge margins when voters decide the issue, Jeremiah Dys of the Family Policy Council said homosexual activists are resorting to the tactics of litigation and legislation to attain their demands. “The Constitution of West Virginia belongs to its people,” Dys told Judiciary Subcommittee A before a room so packed some attendees spilled into the hallway. “There’s no legitimate reason not to let the people decide the legal definition of marriage.” Lawmakers took no vote on whether to send the legislation out of committee. Without cementing the existing Definition of Marriage Act by a constitutional amendment, Dys suggested West Virginia is fair game for advocates of the homosexual lifestyle when it comes to allowed marriages. “It’s no longer if, but when, an attempt to redefine marriage will cross the border into West Virginia,” he said. Seth DiStefano, an organizer for the ACLU in West Virginia, maintained that no such amendment is needed, and warned the debate would be “divisive and distracting and sends a signal that West Virginians are not always free and inclusive people.” DiStefano reminded the lawmakers that existing law forbids illegal marriages in other states and have them recognized by West Virginia law.

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